The Legends of Alkali
by Hohoemi yo Towa ni
Summary: Jimmy is a regular guy... until he starts to visit this strange world full of siens that control the elements. He's transformed into a monster, some people say, and he takes control of the Mirage Orb, the only thing that keeps the world of Alkali together
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

On an island far away from humanity sat one lone boy, sitting on the top of a tree in the Forest of Syuune. The Forest of Syuune held many mythical creatures; so many that not even all of the siens knew what every creature was. Many siens, or beings that can control elements, took up the Forest as an opportunity to catch a pet or companion for battles or for happiness. Shin already had a Guardian, sworn to protect him from all harm; she sat on his head a little awkwardly, her large eyes looking out across the forest. Her large headphones weren't exactly hindering her hearing; in most cases, it escalated her abilities, and could blow off many opposing siens with sound waves.

Shin pet his Finx's head, his eyes scanning the tree tops below. His white clothing ruffled in the breeze. Then – there!

A boy with an Earth-animal was approaching. He was snivelly looking with a hunched back and tussled brown hair. He wore large wire-frame glasses that slid constantly down his nose and had skinny, twig-like arms. Shin recognized the animal as a common Wusyl, and ideal Guardian. It looked pixie-like, with a human-like body but an unnatural face. Its face had slits for eyes and an onion-shaped head, with small heavy-stone wings protruding from between the spikes of its spine. It had large, sharp teeth that it clacked together. Aelia flinched when she heard it through her headphones.

"Time to keep the intruders out," Shin said to his Finx. Aelia sprang away, and leaped but a few feet away from the unsuspecting boy. Shin judged his opponent's weaknesses; he was alone, that was for sure, and he appeared to be an Earth-sien by his clothing, but it was hard to tell through the foliage.

Shin dropped down near the boy, and let his pale hand draw up a small ball of fire. He would keep his land safe and he would keep people like this boy away from it.

"Come on, Dipole!" the boy said encouragingly, almost tugging his Wusyl through the forest. "The people in the Earth village said that a Hybrid lives near here…"

Shin grit his teeth. You'll never see that Hybrid either, idiot. Shin hurled his ball of fire at the boy's head. He yelped and a wall of earth rose up from the ground in response. Dipole, suddenly alert, flit in back of the wall, and whacked it with its small tail. The impact sent a barrage of stones towards Shin.

Aelia leaped in front of Shin, and focused her sound waves on the earth shards. The stones disintegrated in mid-air, as if hitting invisible walls. The boy gaped in surprise as he took in Shin and Aelia; the powerful Finx had neatly combed white fur and wore loose white clothing. It had fierce green eyes that were slits at the moment. Shin had snowy white hair that changed colors from blonde to light green in the sunlight. His eyes were never constant, either – they went from red to black to green and then settled to a pale green matching Aelia's.

"State your business and then leave, kid," Shin said calmly. He laid a hand on Aelia's head. She relaxed and sat down innocently. She then returned to cleaning her ears and playing with her light blonde hair. But never once did her eyes stop following the boy.

The boy seemed to remember that he had been addressed. "We're not afraid of you!" he retorted.

His Wusyl seemed to think otherwise. It began to chatter quickly to him in Earth, which only Earth-siens could understand. Shin, in case he was about to be outsmarted, leaned down, and listened quietly to Aelia's sensitive headphones. They quickly translated the words into Fire: "We should go now, Jimmy, it's pretty dangerous to be out here. Look how powerful this boy is! And he has a Finx – he must've taken awhile to catch it. It seems well-trained, too."

"No way," Jimmy replied fiercely in Earth. He seemed unaware that Shin was listening to his words through a headphone. "We came here to see the Hybrid, remember?"

"The Hybrid?" Shin interceded innocently. Jimmy and the Wusyl Dipole looked startled again. "You're here to see a Hybrid?"

"Yes," Jimmy answered. Hopefully, he ventured, "Have you seen one around here?"

"No," Shin lied. "The Hybrid stuff is just a lie. There aren't many Hybrids here on Alkali – even if there were, do you think they'd stay in one place for long?"

"No…" Jimmy looked disappointedly at the ground. "Okay, Dipole, we can go back –"

Aelia's ears perked up suddenly. She let out a squeak of pain and fell onto the ground, trembling. Shin didn't need to ask what was happening. He scooped Aelia into his arms and started to sprint in the direction of the hidden part of the Forest. Unfortunately, Jimmy and Dipole followed him.

"Where do you think you're going?" Shin challenged without breaking pace. "You said you were going back."

"I was, but –" Jimmy faltered and nearly lost sight of Shin. Grimly he pulled himself off the mud and conjured a large boulder. He jumped onto it and raced after Shin over the tree tops. Shin saw the shadow pass over his head, and he glared up at the boulder. It exploded into flames, and Jimmy let out a yell of surprise. Shin shook his head in disgust as Jimmy hung on a small shard of the boulder left.

"What was that for?" Jimmy snapped, struggling to right himself. Eventually he landed on a tree and began to jog on the branches. "You could've maimed me!"

"I wish I did," Shin snarled, running a little faster.

Jimmy stuck out his chin. He leaped off the tree he was standing on and landed right on Shin. They fell in a heap as another spasm racked through Aelia's body. Shin angrily shook himself. Embers rolled off his skin and Jimmy leaped back in pain. "I don't have time for this!"

Shin cloaked himself in a ring of fire. They danced around his being, and they turned a bright blue. Jimmy scrambled away as a small spark threatened to set him aflame. As a test, Jimmy chucked a small twig at the perimeter. It was immediately ambushed by the flames and they ate it hungrily. Jimmy gulped, but stood up bravely and continued to follow Shin again.

Jimmy had never been a brave person. But he knew that he just had to find the Hybrid. He had to.

Then, Shin stopped abruptly. They were at a large rock facing the sea. Jimmy was awed by the sight of the bright blue sea – the beach by the Forest was practically undisturbed. Well, except for them. Shin quietly touched the large stone sculpture. It melted away at his touch. An enchantment, Jimmy realized.

Shin stepped into a dark staircase, and fell through. At first Jimmy was horrified. Then he realized that it was just a step down onto an elevator. Bravely, he too stepped onto the elevator. It was a black disk that was hard to see in the dim lighting that glowed a faint purple. They dropped down from the ceiling of the rock, which was as black as the bottomless pit beneath Jimmy's feet. The wind rushed by his ears and his lungs screamed for air. He couldn't believe how fast they were going – where were they going?

Suddenly it came to a jarring halt and a piercing scream echoed through the room. Jimmy flinched, but he suddenly became rigid at the sight of what Shin was approaching.

It was a small bright orb, no bigger than a marble, but it gave off an intense light. It shook violently in the glass cavern; at least, Jimmy though it was glass. They were in a huge green cavern that shone like the Northern Lights, and the small ball violently let out another scream. Shin walked up to it calmly, placing Aelia on the floor. Then, he placed his hand on the orb.

Waves of light erupted from Shin and the ball of energy. Jimmy and Dipole were thrown straight into the glass wall. Thankfully, it was soft like a pillow of feathers. Jimmy was struck by multiple blasts, however, each more painful than the other. First came a blast of air; it left him gasping and blue in the face. Next came fire; it burned through his organs, leaving him screaming against the wall and hissing against his skin. Next came earth; stones pummeled into his stomach, invisible and yet too real. Last came water; it lapped up against his skin soothingly, healing all of his pain until a sharp pain shot through his entire body. His blood, it was –

Then Jimmy fell to the floor, gasping. Dipole landed on him, exhausted as well.

Shin glanced at them, surprised. They had survived? He gazed at the orb which had calmed down considerably, and then loped over to the earth victims.

"How are you feeling?" Shin asked, pulling Jimmy to his feet. Only it wasn't Jimmy. His face had been transformed into a glassy image, and his eyes were missing. His mouth was agape, and his whole body was cold. If Shin didn't know any better, he would've thought Jimmy was dead. Instead, Shin looked at Jimmy with shock.

"You lived," Shin whispered. The orb killed any life forms that didn't touch it. Luckily creatures that were asleep were not affected by this, so Aelia was okay. But Jimmy – how had he survived the four elements' might? No one had ever survived all of the elements' wrath, except –

"You!" Shin gasped, dropping Jimmy's body. It fell limply to the floor. Shin revolted in horror. "You've been changed into a Lexard!"

Jimmy weakly raised his head. He nodded wearily, not really understanding, and then fell again, tired. Shin wrinkled his nose. Lexard was a rare blood disease – it would keep the person alive even if that person challenged death in the face. The only way to kill a Lexard and send it to the grave was through combat. Although Lexards could technically live forever, they were sickly, rare creatures. Plus, they attracted bad luck.

What was Shin to do with this boy? First he followed him to the Chamber of Mirage, and now – he had been turned into a Lexard! That was bad – really bad. Who would know what to do? Immediately the answer came to him.

An Avatar. They knew a bunch of stuff, and they were connected to Zepetiyah. Surely one would know? Shin looked back at the Mirage Orb. He couldn't leave it or else it would kill off the entire island. It had grown attached to his touch, and without him, it would explode. Shin sighed. What did this mean? It meant several things:

1. He would have to go on an adventure

2. He would have to go on an adventure with a Lexard

3. He would have to bring the Mirage Orb

4. He would have to find an Avatar who would be able to control the Mirage Orb and get rid of the Lexard

Shin had been taking care of the Mirage Orb for awhile – Aelia had found it in the Forest one day. After that, he had never left the Forest for too long. If the Mirage Orb screamed three times, it would explode and the people and creatures on Alkali would all vanish.

Shin sighed. This was going to be interesting…


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Shin hefted Jimmy's body over his shoulder while Aelia obediently carried Dipole the Earth-Wusyl. Aelia loped over to the elevator and nodded to Shin as she disappeared up the darkness. Shin turned towards the Mirage Orb. What was he going to do with this Lexard? What if the bad luck it brung would lose him the Mirage Orb?

With trembling fingers Shin took the Mirage Orb from where it floated. The Mirage Orb barely reacted, and merely nestled itself deeper into Shin's pants-pocket. Shin turned for the elevator and felt Jimmy stir. Shin ignored Jimmy until they were in the elevator.

"What –?"

Shin jabbed Jimmy's neck, causing him to go into a paralyzed state. Jimmy sputtered, and then righted his glasses haughtily. He tried to stand and realized that Shin was carrying him. "Hey!" Jimmy said, thrashing about a bit. "Where are you taking me?"

"To see an Avatar," Shin replied simply. "I need to get rid of you since you never leave me alone anymore. What are you – gay or something?"

Jimmy wrinkled his nose. "No way!"

Shin dumped Jimmy onto the elevator floor as it came to a halt. Shin turned towards the stone wall and walked through it without saying anything more. Jimmy scrambled after Shin into the sunlight. He had to blink several times before his eyes adjusted. They were on a different part of the Forest – there was a small house in front of him. It was oddly out of place, too – it was a small wooden house made of creaky twigs and unstable rods.

Aelia was sitting on the roof, her headphones on the unconscious Dipole. Shin snapped at her, "Aelia, don't suck its life force! I'll power you up later, okay?"

Aelia disappointedly took her headphones back. She sniffed delicately at Jimmy and then snarled, "Lexard!"

"We're going to ask an Avatar what to do with him," Shin explained, patting her head delicately. "But before that we're going to visit someone. So stay here, Lexard."

Shin entered the cottage but before he entered Jimmy saw him whisper to Aelia something, who nodded and guarded the cottage.

Jimmy ran over to Dipole as soon as his legs had stopped shaking. The Wusyl was just sleeping, to Jimmy's relief. He peered at Aelia. From behind her fur he could just make out Shin's body. Then – ice sprang out from around Shin, and dragged him into the ground!

Jimmy let out a horrified yell and ran up to Aelia. To his surprise Aelia punched him hard in the jaw. He reeled back, tasting blood in his mouth. Then, he remembered something: Finxes needed life force to sustain energy. With all of Jimmy's might, he drew up a small plant from the ground. Aelia stared at it curiously. It held a bit of Jimmy's life-force, so the Finx was naturally attracted to it. She sniffed the petals of the lily.

The ground exploded.

Roots, vines, and trees erupted from the ground, severing the land around them in halves and sending Aelia flying. She quickly realized that Jimmy had distracted her, and furiously began to use her headphones to pinpoint his location. But she couldn't hear anything – she hissed in fury and let air missiles fire from her mouth. They beat savagely into the upcoming shards of earth, but none of them held Jimmy.

Jimmy was already tunneling underground, miles below Aelia. He was going to figure out what Shin was keeping a secret from him. He wasn't an item – he was a sien, too. But as Jimmy dug deeper under the cottage, he began to question that. He hadn't meant to hurt Aelia – he hoped he hadn't. When had he gotten so much power?

Then he remembered what they had called him: a Lexard. Wasn't that a mutated fighting sien? Was that what he was – a mutation?

Then, his nose smashed right into a wall of fire. He gazed at it in confusion, his body fighting to heal the burnt cartilage on his nose. He was miles underground. Where had this come from? He peered through the flames and couldn't see anything except the white core of the fire. He placed his hands near the wall and applied as much pressure as he could.

The effect was amazing. Earth shot out from his hands and put out the fire momentarily. Jimmy quickly jumped into the room, and landed on soft, volcanic soil. Jimmy looked around this new room with surprise. It was a basement – and there were about a million guns lining the walls.

Now Jimmy was completely confused. Siens couldn't use guns – they were made of metal. Plus the lead could actually kill someone, mortal or immortal. Then he saw that they were on displays of more fire, and that blood was still fresh on their handles. They were trophies – this was a basement of death.

A hot hand wrapped around his throat. The power was amazing and the control of chakra indicated it was obviously a war veteran. Jimmy's eyes watered as he tried to see straight. The grip let go, but Jimmy also found out that he was surrounded by fiery black spikes. A girl stepped into his view. She was pretty but she was terrifying at the same time. Her eyes were sharp and Jimmy flinched away from her gaze. If looks could kill went through his mind. She wore light red clothing and had her black hair trail down her back. Her skin was pale and coated in old war scars. She glared at Jimmy with almost pure hatred.

"That's him," Shin's voice floated down to Jimmy. He swiveled his head in relief to see Shin appear from behind the girl. He laid a hand on her shoulder. The change was amazing – suddenly her expression became light and cheerful, and she looked even more beautiful. But her fingers formed a small cage and the embers around Jimmy bristled.

"So this is the Lexard," the girl said, her tone cold again. She gazed at Jimmy and then looked away as if he wasn't worth her time to look at. "I can see why you want to get rid of him. So – you're going to look for an Avatar?"

"Yep," Shin replied. His eyes were now an indigo blue and his hair was a light shade of lavender. "You wouldn't happen to remember where Notte lives, do you?"

Not? Jimmy thought, is that a name?

"… Ayumi might know, and she lives nearby," the girl said. She smiled up at Shin. "Say hi to her for me. Oh, and if this Lexard –" Jimmy flinched; her tone was coated with poison, "– I'll help you kill him."

"Thanks, Tomeka," Shin said. They kissed briefly and Jimmy couldn't help but gag. It was nearly over for him at that moment. Tomeka suddenly held a huge blade at his neck, and she was glaring him in the eye. Jimmy was paralyzed – he wouldn't have been able to move even if he wanted to. The blade was so hot that he could see the water vapor in the air becoming steam within two feet of it. His entire face was misted over and he couldn't see clearly through his glasses.

"I can sever your head from where it sits," Tomeka challenged, nicking Jimmy's skin a little. A droplet of blood fell onto her sword and it mixed into the sword, turning it into a black, crimson blade, similar to that of a bottomless pit's shadows. "Or you don't bother Shin. If you bother him I'll hunt you down and accompany you all the way till this Avatar person beats the crap out of you."

Jimmy gulped. "I-I- won't bother…Shin."

"Too late," Shin snorted. He wrapped one arm around Tomeka's shoulders. She relaxed her sword and it disappeared into the fire around Jimmy's body. Shin smiled down at her and said, "You might as well come with us. I don't want to be away from you for more than an hour."

Tomeka leaned against his chest and nodded. "Okay, I'll start to pack some stuff for us."

She disappeared into the soil, and Jimmy faintly saw her go up through the blood-red-walls to the floor above. Shin casually approached Jimmy and tapped the embers. The barricade fell, and Jimmy with it, as he gasped to breathe properly.

"Who… the hell… is she?" Jimmy hissed.

"That happens to be my girlfriend," Shin replied smugly.

"She's going to be traveling with us until we find this Ayumi person, and then she'll tell us where this Avatar is?!" Jimmy squeaked, his voice cracking after every octave.

Shin laughed. "Yeah, I know – be very afraid. I don't need an Avatar to kill you – Tomeka can do it. But if she does then you'll bring bad luck to us."

As he began to sink into the ground, Shin grinned evilly at Jimmy, who was horrified with this idea. "Oh, and don't push me until I think that bad luck would be better than you living."

Shin melted into the soil. Jimmy could still feel their eyes on him, however – it was not a pleasant feeling. Dipole sat on Jimmy's head, and pat his hair. He had been hiding in Jimmy's shirt until now. "It's okay, Jimmy," Dipole said reassuringly in his quirky, fast voice. "I'll still serve you if you die."

Just then, a sound blasted throughout the cavern. It was, by no doubt, Aelia's shriek.

She burst into the cavern, and slugged Jimmy so hard that he didn't have a second to realize she had entered. She began to deliver fast blows to his pressure points until he was barely conscious. She glared down at him and then spat in his face.

Great, Jimmy groaned, everyone hates me now.

Then, Aelia pulled him up, and slung him into her arms. "Shin will be unhappy if I kill you," she explained to Jimmy. Dipole let out a squeak of fear and returned to hide under Jimmy's shirt.

She was surprisingly warm as she used her sound waves to create a passage through Tomeka's underground fire walls. Jimmy found himself wishing that they were all on his side – why had he bothered getting into this mess?

And then Jimmy felt his life force slipping away at Aelia's touch. Jimmy knew he wasn't going to die, but the sensation was horrifying and he was so weak he couldn't even resist it. Then, he wasn't in Aelia's arms anymore.

He sat on a strange cushion. It was shaped like a giant mushroom, he realized, as he looked around in confusion. He appeared to be in several places. He was in a rainforest, in a land of clouds, a pond, and an eerily black world with nothing in it. He saw how the imagery worked; one area would fade into the other, as if they were entwined with each other.

In front of him sat three girls and one boy. It took him a second to notice them. The first girl had white hair up to her shoulders and red eyes. She wore a red hoodie and wore a red cloak. Her complexion rivaled that of an albino's, and she sat on a white cloud. The next girl had long black hair and skeptical red eyes. She wore a purple gown that looked like silk, and she sat on a fiery red cushion made out of red lilies. The third girl had long blue hair and warm sapphire eyes. She wore a maiden's blue gown of the water tribes, and sat on a pure white lotus. The boy was shorter than the other girls, but he had mischievous brown eyes and short blue hair. He wore a brown cloak about his shoulders and he looked excitedly at Jimmy.

"This is new," the white girl said coolly. A shiver went through Jimmy's whole body. There was years of ancient wisdom hidden in it. Was this an Avatar? No, perhaps that water-sien? Or the dark-looking girl? Or could it be the boy –?

"He's a Lexard," the dark-girl remarked. Her voice was full of indifference, but underneath it, Jimmy could detect a bit of curiosity. "I wonder who sent him to us."

"Am I … dead?" Jimmy managed to ask.

"Damn, you'd be lucky if this was hell," the boy laughed, grinning outrageously at Jimmy. "Nah, we're just borrowing your soul for a second. Don't ya worry, time doesn't pass here."

"Who are you?" Jimmy asked his eyes wide. He suddenly felt very alone. He wasn't ready for this type of thing yet. He wasn't a brave adventurer. He was just – weak little Jimmy. He wiped his wet eyes and rephrased his question hastily, "What's happening?"

"You turned into a Lexard," the white girl answered. "So now we're supposed to deal with it. How nice is that."

"Not very nice," Jimmy muttered.

"So basically, we're just going to tell you a few things to keep in mind," the blue girl said. Her face and smile were so calming that Jimmy instantly felt better.

"Like things about your traveling companions," the dark-girl continued. In an eerie voice, she recited:

"You will have four by your side

One who has seen the world

One who will never be the same

One who will deceive and kill you unless you are cured

And one who is not what they seem."

As Jimmy fought to digest this in, the white girl piped in, "There is a prophecy of you, Jimmy. There is more you need to know, or you will not survive:

The one who has seen the world will despise you

And yet will turn out as one of your greatest allies.

The one who will never be the same will prove to you something

And you must live your life with its lesson.

The one who will kill you will also be your best friend

And you must realize that there is more than one weapon.

The one who is not what they seem will mark the end of the adventure

Even though they have been with you since the beginning."

Now Jimmy was fighting to keep his eyes open. He realized that the calming blue girl was weaving a spell around his being. He just barely caught onto the boy's words:

"You better not forget mine, kid! I'll kill you!

A battle doesn't have to be fought with your powers.

A friend doesn't have to love you.

A killer doesn't have to kill you.

And a mysterious person doesn't always have to be the least understandable."

Jimmy was jolted into reality again. He sat in a fire tent, the sun glaring through the dancing embers. It made colorful patterns in his eyes and he had to blink a few times to adjust his eyes. He fought to remember what he had dreamed about, batting his eyelashes and adjusting his glasses. Then, quickly, he wrote it on the ground, doing as best as he could to remember the words with a stick.

Shin walked up to him, carrying firewood.

"Oh, good, you're awake," Shin said. He dumped the firewood onto a small ash circle. "Help me and Aelia gather firewood to eat lunch. You've been out for several days. Aelia seems happy off your life force, though. Oh, and your Guardian is in the tent."

Shin trooped away, leaving Jimmy to wonder exactly what this prophecy would mean…

Or if he would survive it.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Jimmy struggled to carry his pile of wood over to the ash circle. Tomeka and Shin were already hunched over it, both trying to start a bonfire.

Dipole helped by picking up the sticks that fell out of Jimmy's arm-load like an obedient pet. Aelia followed them at a distance, in case Jimmy tried to run away. Once a Lexard ran away from someone, those people would die. So naturally, anyone who Jimmy met who he wanted to be with would be bound to him by death.

"Jimmy's here," Tomeka announced, standing up. She turned away from him and abruptly began to walk towards the river bank nearby. "I'll catch some fish."

Jimmy groaned and dropped the wood onto the ashes. Shin cocked his head to one side. "What's your problem?"

"I hate fish," Jimmy replied, shamefaced. He blushed pink a little bit. "I'm a picky eater."

"Oh, damn you," Shin grumbled, "Fish won't kill you. Just eat it."

"Tomeka could kill me," Jimmy muttered, sitting down on the ground. He summoned some fresh earth onto the ashes so that a fire could start properly. "So, err, how did you meet her?" Fight her in a war and nearly lose?

"She's a childhood friend," Shin explained. He finally managed to start a fire with the fresh earth. His hair turned a pale orange and his eyes sparkled into a brilliant gold. "We grew up in the same village."

"When did she decide to kill people?" asked Jimmy. He shuddered as he remembered those trophies in Tomeka's basement. "And when did we get here?"

"Aelia sucked most of your life as revenge," Shin mused, "And then we packed for the remainder of the night. We kept you unconscious until Aelia had to help me get firewood. Then you woke up – and Aelia's full. As to your question about Tomeka, she just has a dangerous knack for being powerful."

Jimmy was about to ask just what Shin meant about that when a huge fish landed on his lap. Jimmy shrieked and leaped up in surprise. It was still alive, and nearly two feet in length. It had its head burnt off and an acrid smoke plumed off its scales. Jimmy held his nose in horror. Tomeka appeared, carrying two more alive fish, but their heads were still attached.

Tomeka didn't even look at Jimmy. She blew lightly on the tuna and they went up in huge flames. When the smoke cleared, Jimmy saw that they were cooked to perfection, without a single scale on their white meat. She handed one to Shin and the other she began to eat straight from her fingers.

"What – what about me?" Jimmy asked, but he already knew the answer.

"You eat it," Tomeka replied simply. Aelia suddenly bit off a large portion of the fish from Jimmy's right. He gaped as the Finx sucked up some of the bloody innards and licked her lips. She blinked cheerily at Jimmy and then curled up in a fuzzy ball to sleep. Jimmy was left with a half-eaten tuna with a burnt head.

Dipole said rather lamely, "Well, it's food, master."

Jimmy gingerly tore off a few strips of meat. It didn't taste so good with the burnt taste, but it was food nonetheless. Suddenly Jimmy was struck with a huge feeling of loneliness. In his village all he ate was chicken. This tasted nothing like his mother's spicy chicken with gravy and salt coated on the sides…

Dipole ate the small morsel that was left. Tomeka got up, her fish finished, and said, "I am going to practice training. Shin, I'm sorry to leave you with the vermin, unless you'd like to train with me?"

"I'd be glad to," Shin answered cheerfully. He sat up as well, and something dropped out of his pocket. However, he didn't seem to notice – he was staring at Tomeka. "Do you want to battle?"

"Sure!" Tomeka agreed, and they held hands for the riverbank. Aelia grumbled something in Fire and sat down where Tomeka had been.

"I'm sorry if I'm bothering your fun," Jimmy said without any enthusiasm. Aelia's white ears went up and then down as if to shrug. "I seem to be hated by everyone here."

"Don't be a sissy, Jimmy," a girl said.

Jimmy jumped up in surprise, startling both Dipole and Aelia. He whirled around. No way!

The dark-girl was standing in front of him. She was a bit taller than him, and she waved specks of sunlight away from her as if they irritated her. Her dark hair played in the sunlight and her dark red eyes were serious and unamused. She cocked an eyebrow as Jimmy shot rocks through her body. She looked real enough, but the rocks passed right by her being.

"What're you doing, Master?" asked Dipole, worriedly climbing on top of Jimmy's head. He peered at the dark-girl, and added, "Do you need something more to eat? I can get something for you. I'll try and catch a fish or maybe a squirrel."

"Yeah…yeah…" Jimmy said, sitting down shakily. His lip quavered and he cleaned his glasses with his tunic. He continued to glare at the dark-girl, who made no movement. He wasn't even sure if she was real, or if she had spoken. No one else saw her. Dipole flew off into the forest, his pattern suggesting that he was obviously in a worried frenzy to help his master.

Aelia just looked curiously at Jimmy but sat back down to sleep.

The dark-girl moved towards Jimmy. He flinched and fell backwards. She stared at him in astonishment and then scolded, "I just want to talk to you, sheesh!"

"AAAAAAAHHHH!" Jimmy screamed, scrambling backwards. "What the heck are you?"

The dark-girl wasn't fazed. "It doesn't matter."

"Why're you screaming?" Aelia asked, scratching her ears delicately. She yawned and added, "If you want to run away or deafen the whole forest I'll just kill you."

When Aelia spoke, Jimmy sparked an idea. Her headphones would translate their languages. Now that he thought about it, he had been able to understand Shin and Tomeka when Aelia was around. Was that why he could hear and see this dark-girl? Was it Aelia's headphones? He knew Finx technology was sensitive to all sound-waves, but then why didn't Aelia see the girl?

"You're having a tough time," the girl said bluntly. "Don't you worry – you should actually get used to this. I and the others will be checking on you frequently."

"The others…" Jimmy murmured. That meant the pale girl, the boy, and the calm girl would visit him? Just thinking about them lifted Jimmy's heart a little. People who he had met on this strange journey who didn't hate him – the thought almost brought tears to eyes. He sniffled and asked, "Why are you checking on me?"

"We have to make sure you're okay," the girl explained. "You're very important, you know. You're going to reshape the world as we know it with your companions… and are you crying?"

Jimmy just shook his head in disbelief. This couldn't honestly be happening to him. Plus, it was just a little bit of crying… not really. He was just so happy. Just as he was about to tell this girl that, heat blasted him across the field. He felt himself flying up into the air and yet all he could see was the fringe of trees skimming below his nose. He couldn't even hear himself yell as the heat wave tossed him across the entire forest. Then, he was abruptly jerked to one side. The motion nearly made him sick. Still going at top-speed, the burning heat imprinted into his skin, propelling him back to Aelia and Dipole and the girl.

He crashed into the ground, creating a small rut as he landed. Dust clouds flew up in response, and Aelia jumped. She gaped as she saw the scorch marks and the small embers dancing off his skin. "What happened to you?! You were just sitting down a second ago--!"

Jimmy just shook his head, and gazed up at the girl with awe and fear. She cracked her knuckles and said coolly, "I hate it when people cry. Is it out of your system?"

Jimmy nodded numbly and felt his hair. As he expected it was burnt on the edges. He glared up at the girl and then croaked, "Get away from me. I don't like people who boss me around."

She raised a hand sharply as if to kill him. Jimmy winced, but continued to glare. To his surprise the pale girl appeared. She gripped the dark girl's hand and said sternly, "Morita… killing him now won't do any good. Besides, you said you'd say hi to Shin."

Morita lowered her strong hand and merely slammed a small piece of earth into Jimmy's face. Mud coated his face and Aelia burst out laughing, still not seeing the two figures. Dipole hastily took the mud off Jimmy's clothing and placed it back curiously into the ground.

Morita pivoted on one heel and made her way for Shin and Tomeka who were battling obliviously. The pale face smiled at Jimmy and he caught a glimpse of a white animal behind her hood. She placed it behind her head as if she knew what he was looking at. He gasped.

It was a small, white Air Wusyl; it was bigger than Dipole but was white like the sunlight and had pale light blue eyes. It had frail luminescent wings that beat furiously like a hummingbird's, and it had small pointed teeth. It had a longer tail than Dipole and it wore a small ridiculous purple cape over its shoulders.

This time, Aelia saw them. She let out a high pitched squeal and nearly dashed over to Shin. But then she was frozen in mid-air and the pale girl walked calmly over to Aelia. She passed a hand over the Finx's head, and Aelia's eyes emptied out from fear to nostalgia. Aelia suddenly hit the ground, snoring.

The pale girl smiled and turned to Jimmy slowly. "You've been through a lot, I see," she said warmly.

Jimmy flinched as if he'd been punched. Her words were light and harmless, but something froze in his chest. Was it fear? Maybe – or a response to something now that he was a Lexard?

"What's going on?" Jimmy grumbled, staring at Aelia. "What did you do?"

"I erased her memory," the girl said cheerily. Her Wusyl nodded vigorously. "You know, you asked me the same question but one hour ago. Anyways, Morita, Vincent, and I will be checking on you once and awhile. Morita wanted to say hi to Shin, but … ah, I had a feeling she might kill you."

The word slipped out. Both of them shivered. "But," she recovered slightly, "I'm very pleased to meet you again Jimmy. My name is Notte. N-O-T-T-E."

"Is that a name?" Jimmy asked without realizing it. He immediately recoiled in horror as he realized what he had said.

"It's short for something," Notte replied matter-of-factually. She flexed her pale limbs and yawned. "I guess I should've put up a shield like Morita – I wouldn't have had to put Aelia to sleep. Oh well."

"Wait, so why are you checking on me?" Jimmy asked curiously. He felt safer going with one question at a time. He didn't want to go on another heat wave across the forest.

"You're an important part to the prophecy," Notte shrugged. "Morita didn't tell you that?"

"Err…" Jimmy scratched his head guiltily. "She told me but then she – err – blasted me … umm… across the forest."

Notte shook her head and sighed. "That's okay, you're alive, right? Morita and I should really be leaving now… we can't spend too much time telling you anything. Otherwise we may affect the prophecy."

Just then Morita appeared in a swirl of golden leaves from the sunlight. Shin and Tomeka appeared behind her in bursts of flames. Jimmy was torn – two people who hated him and two people who were okay with him. To his surprise, Tomeka and Shin didn't glare at him. In fact, something else lay in their eyes. Was it pity?

Tomeka leaned down to Jimmy's level and stared at him slowly. Then, she said, "Morita instructed us that we're going to be your traveling companions for an important prophecy. So we're going to be a little nicer to you, even though you're just the pawn of this prophecy."

Morita and Notte glared sharply at Tomeka, who shrugged it away. Shin's eyes were cold, and his hair was a dark black. His eyes were unreadable and gray. "So you can't tell us what the prophecy will do to us, right?" Shin asked, addressing Morita.

"No," the two girls answered at the same time. "By the way," Notte added. She pointed to Aelia. "She can't know about it, Shin – not until it's over. I'm sorry. Erase her memory every time we visit. We can't risk interference."

"That big a deal?" Jimmy hissed. They all turned to look at him. "What's so special about me, anyways? Tomeka is powerful, Shin has the perfect Guardian, and he has the glowie ball thing-a-"

"You have a what?" Morita asked sharply. Another Air Wusyl appeared behind her hair. It was younger than Notte's Wusyl, but it held similar characteristics. Shin guiltily took out the Mirage Orb from his pocket. Morita stared at it, and then looked blankly at Notte. "What is that thing?"

"I…don't know," Notte admitted. She stepped up to Shin and gingerly took the Mirage Orb into her hands. Immediately it turned blood red and Notte shoved it back into Shin's. Blood gushed out from her palms in the indent of the orb. She wrinkled her nose and healed her hand as a gust of air passed by. She stared at the Mirage Orb, which had returned to being a pale-orb. "Shin, where did you find that thing?"

"Aelia found it," Shin replied honestly. He juggled the Mirage Orb between his hands in confusion. "That never happened before. Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," Notte reassured Shin quickly. "But that thing concerns me. Morita – we should research it. I wonder if this will affect the prophecy."

The two girls left separately. Notte left in a small tornado and Morita exited in a huge display of flaming leaves. The burnt remains of Morita's leaves fluttered on the breeze and blew away like ashes. The three siens stared at the space where they had stood in silence. Then, Tomeka spoke up. "Well. That was certainly interesting. Why don't we relax for the rest of the day? Jimmy – you have some explaining to do."

Jimmy gulped and nervously slid away from Tomeka again. Just then Dipole returned, carrying a large dead squirrel. He took one look at Aelia on the ground, blood on the ground, an incinerated spot on the ground. Then, he fainted.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"…and then Morita showed up in front of me, and she blasted me for crying," Jimmy finished, his glasses reflecting the campfire's flames. Shin and Tomeka sat across from him, staring into the fire as well, contemplating as he finished what he knew about the "prophecy".

"So…basically we know nothing about this damn prophecy," Shin said. His teeth grit visibly in the firelight. Dipole snuggled deeper into Jimmy's shirt and Aelia played with the forest night fireflies farther off. "That's just great. Morita said that Notte can't do anything about fixing you either, so all we have to do is fulfill this prophecy and then I won't need to be associated again with you, or something like that."

"A prophecy," Tomeka repeated, playing with the campfire. She took a bit of it with her hand and juggled it between her hands. "Something doesn't seem right to me about this prophecy. We know Matsuo, we know Notte, and we know Morita… who was the boy?"

Jimmy shrugged. "I had never seen him before. He struck me as a fun-loving person, though."

Shin's head snapped up. "Did he have blue hair and a homicidally brave smile?"

Jimmy nodded, intrigued. Shin groaned. "Of course. It's Vincent."

"Who's Vincent?" asked Jimmy and Tomeka in unison. Jimmy's tone was full of curiosity – Tomeka's was full of disbelief and almost accusatory as if she should've known sooner. Shin flinched and said,

"His name is Norie Vincent. He's an air sien like Notte, only Notte is an Avatar." Jimmy jumped a little. Notte was an Avatar? That was new…then again, that would explain why they were summoning him to tell him about a prophecy. Jimmy silently cursed himself for not asking them about it either… what had those confusing words meant? He had memorized it already, but still.

"What's so special about Vincent?" Tomeka asked, startling Jimmy out of his reverie.

"Vincent is a hyper sien," Shin answered. He wiped his face with his sleeve from the sweat appearing on his forehead. "I wonder why he knew a piece of the prophecy."

Jimmy just shook his head. He got up and walked for the tent. He needed to be alone and think this over. There was just so much going on in his mind. So he was important in this prophecy or something…

Shin watched Jimmy go and just shook his head sadly. His locks turned snowy white as he shook his head and when he blinked his eyes they transformed into chlorophyll green. Tomeka leaned against him and whispered, "That Lexard…I think Morita's right."

Shin thought for a second, and then answered, "Maybe. But I don't think so – I think she was lying to us. That Lex- Jimmy. Jimmy was changed by the Mirage Orb, which tried to kill Notte. I think that the Mirage Orb is going to play a crucial role in this too."

"I think I'm going to go back home," Tomeka said softly. She stood up and Shin caught her arm.

"Don't leave me with the kid," Shin pleaded. "Please, Tomeka, are you mad at me?"

"No, not you," Tomeka answered sincerely. "I just need to sort some things out for a bit. I think I know what I'm supposed to do. But I'll be back. I swear, Shin."

Shin nodded wearily, and stood up as well. He put out the campfire and took Tomeka's arm. He escorted her the short distance to her house, and then paused briefly at the door to kiss her. Tomeka then glanced sadly at him, and closed the door softly. Shin felt a little happier and slightly more energized after their kiss and left for Jimmy.

This isn't SO bad, Shin thought to himself, Tomeka isn't that far away and she promised we'd meet up. Aelia would be able to lead her to us, no matter how far away we travel.

Then, a shriek ripped through the forest.

Shin broke into a sprint and he sped across the forest floor, panting heavily. He had left the Mirage Orb! What had he been thinking? He knew exactly what he had been thinking – he would only be gone for a second. He fought his way through the foliage and arrived at the campsite.

Jimmy was holding the Mirage Orb. His Mirage Orb. In a surge of fury Shin shot a bolt of fire towards the Lexard. The Mirage Orb was screaming – screaming for him. He had it with him the entire day – why would it need him now?

Then, he realized something to his horror. Jimmy's fingers – they were deep within the Mirage Orb. Green and blue light flashed around Jimmy, who was pale and looked unconscious. Shin rushed over and saw Jimmy absorb the fire blast. Then, something remarkable happened. Jimmy woke up, choking, and the Mirage Orb separated from his being. He fell back, and a spurt of fire erupted from his fingers.

Jimmy stared at the smoke coming off it, and then fainted, exhausted. Aelia loped over to Jimmy and nuzzled him worriedly. She turned to Shin who picked up the Mirage Orb, calming it. "He's out cold," Aelia reported. She made a grunt when Shin pocketed the Mirage Orb. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to stop, him, Master. But something doesn't add up here – was it but not so that when I carried him to you in Tomeka's house, you carried him over your shoulder? And he might've touched the Mirage Orb then?"

Shin was struck by this thought like lightning. No…it couldn't be…Shin felt the warm bulge where the Mirage Orb was. Could it be that Jimmy could have visions and see the phantoms meant for him and Tomeka through his Mirage Orb? It was possible – anything was possible nowadays.

Shin shook his head. He needed a full night's sleep on this. Wearily, he dragged Jimmy's body into the tent, which was now a light dim fire; good for sleeping in. Shin slept on the opposite side of the tent, and went to sleep, Aelia tucked in the space where his chest was.

Jimmy was having a nightmare. He had gone out to go to the bathroom and he had seen the Mirage Orb on the ground. He thought Shin had dropped it and was about to pick it up when his hand was suddenly glued to it. Then it started to shriek and he couldn't remember after that. But this pain – it was so intense and the darkness around him was pressing his ribs and crushing his body.

He wished he hadn't touched that Mirage Orb.

Then, he was hurtled straight into something short and blue. They went tumbling through what looked like white cotton candy – clouds, Jimmy thought lazily. Then, they landed in a heap, Jimmy on top of the boy.

"You!" Jimmy yelled, jumping up in surprise. "I'm so sorry – you're Vincent, right?"

Vincent's eyes were rolling around in circles. He shook his head from side to side, stretched his limbs, and then said sleepily, "Eh? Who're –?"

Then he got a good look at Jimmy. "Wait a second! You're the Jimmy Prophecy!"

"I'm the what?" Jimmy asked, looking around. He was sitting on clouds in the sky. He looked over the edge of the cloud he was sitting on and flinched. It was a bottomless pit of pink clouds to nothing. He certainly didn't want to fall off. "What's going on?"

"That's your favorite thing to say," Vincent commented. "I should be asking you that. You can't teleport here, this is my training grounds. There's no spell code for this area unless you're an air sien. Last I checked you were an earth sien/Lexard."

Jimmy looked down at the tip of his shoes. "Well, I kind of… might've…teleported here by use of an item."

Vincent cocked his head to one side. "Huh? Well, that doesn't make any sense. No item can change your chemical make-up unless you're a genius. Which you don't appear to be."

Jimmy snorted dismissively. "That's not the point. I don't get why I'm here or what that Mirage Orb did to put me here, but –"

"Mirage Orb?!" Vincent yelped. He leaped into the air, and landed a few miles away on a separate cloud. He began to make intricate hand-signals in the air, facing away from Jimmy. Jimmy stared at Vincent with a little bit of irritancy. He wasn't finished asking his questions.

"Is it true that you know a bit of my prophecy?" Jimmy shouted.

"Of course I do," Vincent replied calmly. He didn't even turn around to face Jimmy. His voice just reached him on a gust of wind. "What about it?"

"Before I get distracted by something weird, what are you doing?"

"I'm summoning Shin here," Vincent answered matter-of-factually. "If you got here because of the Orb then he should be able to teleport you back since he owns it."

"No!" Jimmy shouted, leaping forward. A wall of fire shot out from around his feet as he moved forward. The flames circled around Vincent, threatening to roast him if he moved again. Vincent pivoted in the air and stared at Jimmy in disbelief. Even Jimmy was staring at his feet. What just happened?

"You're a Hybrid Lexard?" Vincent screamed. He flew forward, just dodging the inferno that caught a bit of his cloak. A few embers remained on Vincent's cloak but they fell off as Vincent reached an incredible speed of Mach four. He landed perfectly in front of Jimmy without even a gust of wind, and added; "Now I'm curious. This is enough to keep me from calling Shin. How the hell did you do that?"

Jimmy flexed his fingers experimentally. Small embers appeared at his fingertips and danced around his hand. He shook it and the embers vanished in puffs of smoke. "I don't know," Jimmy admitted. Then he remembered the astonishing pain that had went through his hand – what had the Mirage Orb done to him?

"Wait!" Jimmy spoke up quickly, sensing Vincent was going to summon Shin again. "I have a few questions. One – what is the Mirage Orb?"

Vincent's face contorted into a shameful grimace. "I can't tell you that. Yet."

"Damn it," Jimmy hissed between his teeth. He thought carefully about his next question this time. "Fine then. What is Shin?"

Vincent paused here. Then, he smiled. "I suppose I can tell you some of it. He's going to survive this ordeal, unless you die. Does that make sense to you?"

Jimmy was flattened by this fact. "Shin doesn't like me. He hates me."

"Even if that's true, he needs you," Vincent said, smirking a bit. "Just as much as he needs Matsuo Ayumi and Methyl."

"Met- who?"

Vincent's eyes grew wide. He turned away hastily and said, "No one."

"I heard you say "may-thel"," Jimmy retorted accusatorily. "Who is he?"

"Methyl is a girl," Vincent growled. His pupils enlarged as he thought about something. He had to shake his head several times to wipe away the spell that was about to erase his memories. Cursing, Vincent turned to Jimmy. "Shoot. I changed the prophecy a bit by telling you about Methyl. Well, if hell's going to freeze over, might as well tell you about Matsuo. She'll be joining you real soon and Methyl too, okay?"

"Wait!"

But Jimmy landed back on his back, in the fire tent. Shin was sleeping on the other corner of the tent. It was nearly daylight. Jimmy cursed and stumbled out of the tent. Aelia bounced after him, and to his surprise, nuzzled his hand. "You going to go hunt?" she asked.

"Umm…" Jimmy hesitated. But then his stomach grumbled and gave away the answer.

Aelia nodded to it and volunteered sleepily, "I'll do it. You wait here and start the fire. Your chakra signal, by the way – it's been altered. What happened last night?"

Jimmy just shook his head honestly and replied, "I think I gained an element. I'll tell Shin."

But Aelia pressed her forehead to Jimmy's heart and paused there for a moment. Jimmy frowned. Was she listening to his heart? Then she pulled away and smiled toothily. "I read your memory. So you met Vincent – how quaint. And you gained the fire element – man, Shin is not going to be happy with that. Hybrid Lexards are tough to battle."

"And they don't get enough sleep for their own good," Vincent added, appearing behind Aelia. She let out a squeak and scurried off into the forest in her haste to leave. Much like Notte and Morita, he looked real, but a leaf passed right through his head.

"You're up," Vincent remarked dryly. "That complicates things a bit."

"So you're here to check on me again, right?" Jimmy asked in a bored tone.

"Well…" Vincent smiled guiltily at Jimmy. "Since you know too much about the prophecy I might have to erase your memories."

"WHAT!" Jimmy yelped, jumping away from Vincent's shadow. Vincent pursued Jimmy, his hand outstretched. Jimmy grabbed it, and twisted Vincent's arm. To his surprise, Vincent was strangely light, and twisted along with his arm. Vincent's face, however, changed.

It went from calm and apologetic to angry and frustrated. His other hand shot out and planted itself on Jimmy's brain. Jimmy froze, thinking that everything would be sucked out by that hand. Even Vincent looked triumphant. But nothing happened. Vincent's smile morphed into confusion and then bewilderment. Then, to anger again.

"I need to erase your memory, Jimmy!" Vincent snarled. He shaped his hands into a ball and a gust of spiraling air appeared in it. He shot it at Jimmy, barely a foot away. Jimmy caught the ball in his hands, and to his shock, it exploded into flames. This time the flames ate up the chakra of the attack and looped itself through the air around Vincent.

Vincent gaped as the fire didn't burn through his skin. It merely formed a strong and unbreakable lasso. The fire also wound itself around Vincent's hands, making his sien powers momentarily useless. Vincent glared at Jimmy. "Let me go, Jimmy! It's not like I'm going to take away all of your memories! Just the one where I told you about Methyl! You're not allowed to know about that."

Jimmy shook his head stubbornly. "No. I need this memory. I'm tired of not knowing anything."

"Come on, kid!" Vincent groaned, his expression pleading this time. "If Notte finds out I told you, or Morita, or even Shin…" He shuddered, but then resorted back to trying to get out of his bonds. "And this Fire thing, too. It's got to go. You seriously messed up the Prophecy earning this power."

"I'll make you a deal, then," Jimmy said, walking up to Vincent, who had stopped struggling. "We battle – if you win, I'll let you erase my memories and take away my fire ability. If I win, you will let me keep everything that you will take away AND you answer all my questions, even if they mess up this damn prophecy."

Vincent sneered, "Yeah right! How come you get more conditions than me? That's not fair at all!"

Jimmy sighed. "Okay, then, if you win, you also get to … umm… well what do you want?"

Vincent's face broke into a huge smile. "You lose then you also have to give me your Earth Noble."

"My what?" Jimmy asked blankly. "You know, I Awakened just a week ago. I came to this forest yesterday thinking that the Hybrid could explain this whole world to me. I mean, I had done a lot of reading in before I came here, but it was really sketchy. So what's an Earth Noble?"

"A Noble is the sien's master," Vincent explained. "Nobles eventually lead up to the Avatar, who add up to Zepetiyah. Basically whoever your Noble is, you can't disobey them for your life. It also seems that you must have a strong Noble because you're a fighting sien, a Lexard. That person must be a lot of fun and really strong, so I'd be glad to let my Noble eat it."

"Eat it?" Jimmy repeated, feeling blank and empty.

"When my Noble, Suki, eats your Noble, my Noble will become more powerful, and thus my powers will be enhanced, which means my Guardian's powers will be enhanced," Vincent explained. "But could you please release me from this bond? It's getting very uncomfortable."

"Oh!" Jimmy closed his fist. The fire evaporated and Vincent flew up into the air, shaking the embers off his cloak. "And I accept, I suppose. I don't know who my Noble is."

"It doesn't matter," Vincent said impatiently. "As long as you give me your permission to pursue your Noble, I'll have a Servant's Tracking ability, which will allow me to capture your Noble. How nice is that?"

Jimmy had a sinking feeling in his heart as he led Vincent to the river where Tomeka and Shin had been battling yesterday. He didn't know much about battling – he just knew that he had to stay alive. What if he killed Vincent or Vincent killed him? Lexards couldn't be killed unless they were in battle.

Before he could chicken out, Shin appeared. He trudged into the middle of the river, small steps of fire allowing him to stand above the current. Jimmy stood on one side of the river, Vincent on the other. Vincent was hopping from foot to foot. Shin's hair was a messy light blue and his eyes were a gloomy orange.

"I heard what you were talking about – with the battle," Shin said loud enough for them to hear. "I'll referee. Good luck Vincent. I'll time you two for five minutes, and whoever gets the other unconscious wins. No leaving this forest, and no Guardians."

Shin turned to Jimmy. His eyes weren't cold, but accepting. "So you're like me, huh," Shin said. He indicated Jimmy's red fingers. "I saw the fire lasso you made. I guess the Mirage Orb thinks you need it or something. Whatever the case is good luck."

These small words energized Jimmy. He nearly cried again. Shin was accepting him! No longer was he the outcast of this traveling group – he was friends with Shin, even if it was somewhat a distant friendship.

Shin sent a small ball of fire into the river. As the smoke exploded over the battle field, Shin announced loudly and clearly:

"BEGIN!"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Shin jumped back as Jimmy and Vincent surged forward. Vincent, Shin knew, had the obvious upper-hand. If Jimmy was truly just-Awakened, he had never fought before. Shin wondered if Jimmy was just taking advantage of the situation just to test out his Lexard abilities. Shin was curious, he'd admit – he'd never seen a Lexard fight before.

Vincent sat on a huge gust of wind that would've made Kansas proud to see. (Note: In the United States, Kansas is a state famous for tornadoes. It is how Dorothy is sent to the Land of Oz in the movie The Wizard of Oz.)

Jimmy held two balls of fire in his hands and small pebbles circled his feet. Even Shin could see that Jimmy was unused to this type of power and controlling more than one element at a time. But, Shin thought, it might be his only chance to winning.

Vincent curled up into a ball and was sucked into his own vortex. The wind spun him around and it morphed into a giant Vincent made out of air. From the center, Vincent opened up. The air-being mimicked his movements, and Vincent flew forward. "Kuykaiti!" Vincent yelled, slamming his fist into his hand.

Waves of air flew out from the air being with amazing force. The forest around Jimmy fell down without any effort. Jimmy flew back, almost weightlessly, and was tossed around like a Ragdoll. It's over, Shin thought to himself in disgust. He hadn't learned a thing about Jimmy's fighting style.

Something crackled in the air. Shin stepped back just in time to let Aelia carry him to safety. She grabbed Shin around the waist and jumped up suddenly into the air. She let out a loud scream and a bubble of sound waves protected them. Jimmy exploded in what seemed like light. Vincent went tumbling through the air. He bounced off of Aelia's bubble, and Shin caught a glimpse of a gash in his chest. Shin stared through the blinding light. Jimmy was on fire – golden fire.

He stared at himself, and held up a hand as if to help Vincent. A torrent of fire shot out of his fingertips, twisting around in the air and forming a huge fire dragon. Vincent let out a yelp of surprise as he put up an air shield. The dragon clamped its jaws on Vincent's bubble of protection. The dragon fought angrily, beating its tail around and blowing blue fire onto Vincent's shield. Shin was impressed – Vincent was obviously fighting just to stay alive. Jimmy looked horrified. He stomped his foot in the air.

A mile of rocks and earth rose out of the air and smashed into Vincent's air shield. This time some broke through. Vincent was thrown straight into the river. Aelia's sound barrier failed, and she and Shin landed on top of a tree cautiously. Shin carefully surveyed the damage – whole sections of the river were missing pieces of water. Had Jimmy drowned Vincent?

Then Vincent jumped right out of the river, a smile etched onto his face. This time he flipped onto a gust of wind, and rode it like a skateboard. He circled Jimmy, who cried out in joy, and wiped his red eyes. "You thought you killed me?" Vincent chuckled. "I haven't been hit like that in awhile! I might actually enjoy this battle!"

Vincent back flipped in the air.

The air around him turned into small glassy-looking daggers. They disappeared for a second and then would reappear as it was thrown through the air. Vincent smiled as the daggers hit their mark. Jimmy let out a scream as blood spurt out of his chest. Vincent winced a little as he felt his own wound growing. He pressed one hand to the gash and quickly began to heal it. But he was running out of chi, and he wouldn't be able to attack if he healed himself completely.

Even Vincent was surprised by Jimmy's amount of power. He would have to play it safer.

Jimmy roared and ripped the daggers out of his chest. He threw them angrily at the water. To Shin's amazement, they turned to ice. The entire river froze over, turning it into a slippery ice field. Then, Jimmy raised his arms towards Vincent, who floated a few feet away. Ice shot up from the river and began to try and sever Vincent in half. Vincent let out a shriek and he began to dodge the ice spikes by jumping on the edges and cart-wheeling to the next. Fortunately, Vincent veered away from the river.

The ice couldn't follow him anymore. Vincent landed on the ground, dust rising from his soles. Vincent's eye twitched as he glared at Jimmy. "What the heck!" he yelled. "Since when are you a water sien, too?"

Jimmy shook his head in disbelief. Shin was gaping at Jimmy. He grasped the Mirage Orb in his pocket. What had Jimmy taken from his Orb? Had he taken, somehow, abilities?

"That's one more thing I have to erase!" Vincent shouted in frustration. "This is so irritating!"

Jimmy just flexed his fingers. It was obvious that Jimmy liked the power. Shin wondered if Vincent would survive after all. It seems the tables had turned considerably. Jimmy had never met a water sien before – so how was he so good at controlling the water?

"Is he an Avatar?" asked Aelia.

That was a possibility. Surely Notte could tell him that much?

Jimmy spiraled down and landed on the ice. He pointed towards Vincent with one finger. A scream went through Vincent's whole body. Vincent didn't feel any pain, but he knew what was happening. He was going to be Controlled. This was totally uncalled for. Since when was Jimmy a Controlling Sien, too?! How many abilities had he gotten from the Mirage Orb? What was wrong with this kid?

Then Vincent saw himself, looking around in confusion. Then, he cursed himself. He had been kicked out of his own body! His body looked up at his soul, and smiled evilly. Vincent hissed. He had always thought his smile charming – looking at it from afar, he saw it as a mocking challenge. Vincent gathered air around him, and fired a comet at Jimmy.

Jimmy was knocked out of Vincent's body, not expecting to be hit by any attacks. He skidded back into his wavering body, which tumbled onto the grass. But Jimmy still – unbelievably – had a few shots left in his body. Feebly, Jimmy raised a hand and fired at Vincent. Energy balls the size of boulders blasted out of Jimmy's body, and he collapsed again. Vincent only just missed getting hit by the air-spells. Vincent cursed – an Air Sien too? Only Avatars could possess this much power! But he wasn't any of them – he was just a Lexard! Did Lexards cheat the elements? This would be something to research… Vincent glared at Jimmy's body, ready for the next attack.

Then, to Vincent's surprise, Jimmy didn't move. Vincent focused his eyes on Jimmy's body: he was unconscious. Vincent felt his wound. It was gone! Jimmy's power must've healed it.

Shin jumped down from the tree, and Aelia ran over to Jimmy's fallen body. When Jimmy had fallen, he had felt as if something had been taken from him. But he quickly shook the feeling away. It must've just been a small feeling of disappointment or something. Or was it? It felt powerful – but Shin focused again on Jimmy.

"Vincent, you win," Shin said, staring at Jimmy in disbelief. "I must say, it's a little disappointing – he nearly had you."

Vincent raised his eyebrows and replied, "But I still won." He grinned widely and looked at Jimmy. The boy was obviously completely depleted of chakra and chi. Now Vincent felt a little guilty. He had driven this boy, this new Lexard, to near extinction. He shook his head, and continued to walk towards Jimmy. Lexards were created to fight until they died. He was lucky he had even survived. Vincent realized something else as he raised his hand to gather chakra in it; his chakra and chi powers were at its max. Jimmy had given him his strength back, too?

Vincent moved to lower his fingers to Jimmy's forehead. He got close, but no matter how hard he tried, Vincent found that he couldn't do it. Disgusted, Vincent stood up and smiled brightly up at the sky. "I guess this is how it's supposed to be," he whispered to himself. He smiled down at Jimmy's head and patted it childishly. "Have a nice nap, kid. I look forward to the next idiot who decides to battle you. Speaking of which – Shin, why don't you battle him next time? Let him kick your ass?"

Shin glared at Vincent, who laughed out loud and said, "Kidding! Kidding! I'll go report to Morita now – Notte likes to run around to random dimensions, but it's easier to contact Morita. You might want to ask Morita about this too."

Vincent disappeared in a puff of smoke. Dipole suddenly flew out from the fire tent and embraced Jimmy tightly. "What happened to him?" Dipole demanded, glaring at Aelia. "Who was that blue boy?"

"They fought for information," Aelia explained. She drew Dipole away from Jimmy, and pat the Wusyl's loyal head. "Jimmy put up an amazing fight for a weak looking kid like him. He controlled water and fire."

"Water and fire?" Dipole repeated, staring wide-eyed at Jimmy with new eyes. "I knew… that the blue boy was strong by his chakra levels… but Master…?"

The Wusyl ducked his head into Aelia's shirt, who licked its head affectionately. "There, there. My Master Shin is powerful, too, but we both know that we'll keep each other safe."

"But Master Jimmy!" sobbed Dipole, wiping his earthy eyes. "He won't know when to stop! He's a Lexard now! I should've helped him – but for some reason I couldn't leave the tent until now…"

"Vincent labeled the battle without Guardians," explained Shin, reaching down and taking Dipole into his own arms. "That is why you weren't allowed to interfere. Aelia and I are going to scout around and see if we can find the nearest town. We are going to stop on the way to Matsuo's; a dream last night told me to. So we're going to find out where she lives."

Dipole nodded, and flew to Jimmy's fallen body. "I will guard Master Jimmy," he said bravely. "Can you help me carry him to the tent? I want to make sure he's well rested from his fight."

"You're very loyal to him," Shin noted as he helped heave Jimmy's body to the tent. "When did he impress (Note: impress: put into servitude/slavery) you?"

"Barely a few days ago," Dipole replied. He and Aelia carried Jimmy's upper half of the body while Shin hefted the legs. "Master Jimmy was very hungry and very thirsty. He didn't know what was edible in this forest, so I helped him. I grew attached to Master Jimmy – he just looked so lost, and I worried that he would die. This – this battle made me worried that I would lose him."

"I feel the same way," Aelia said sympathetically. "Whenever Shin leaves me, my heart feels it, even when I'm sleeping. It tugs in the direction he is, almost telling me to follow him. But after awhile, I've realized that sometimes I have to leave Master Shin alone sometimes – he needs to sort things out by himself."

Dipole nodded. Shin eased Jimmy into the tent, and they arranged him comfortably on his earth mat. Dipole sat on Jimmy's shoulder and shooed Shin and Aelia away. Aelia nodded and licked the top of Jimmy's head and then bounded away. Shin patted Dipole's head, and gestured that he wouldn't be far.

Dipole watched Jimmy's labored breathing for awhile. He remembered guarding his brothers and sisters within his own Pack just one week ago, who loved him and slept fitfully without worry. Dipole wondered how his Pack was doing – did Penelope finally get a Master? Could George read? Was Christian ready for his son to be born?

Dipole continued to think of his old family until he too fell asleep against Jimmy's chest.

A group of old people sat around a circle. It was a dark room with flickering candles and carpets lining the walls in the patterns of foreign flags. The stone floor was cold and silvery, made of old stone from long ago.

They were all about fifteen centuries old, with Rebecca, the oldest, at forty thousand millennia old. Rebecca had strong brown hair, deep dark skin, and almond shaped eyes. She smiled at her Elders Council – they determined the events of each day and what was best for Alkali. There was one young representative from each clan – Max, from the Air Siens; a bright girl who was very open-minded and very kind to others. She always was a calm individual with short black hair and white eyes. There was Markus of the Fire Siens; he was a jumpy individual who was a little flirtatious, but a strong fighter. He had red hair and albino skin; his pink eyes were that of a mouse's. There was Calaicea of the Water Siens; she was substituting for the real leader who was out on a prophecy's mission and could not attend the ceremony. Calaicea had long blonde hair and freckles across her face. She had astonishing green eyes that always challenged others to fight her. There was Michiyo of the Earth Siens; she had medium-length black hair and a round face; but she was strong and it obvious by the way her fingers twirled a small twig that she was a great artist. There was Ayaise of the Dark Siens; she was a quiet individual who let her hands lay limply at her sides. There was an ominously sad aura around her being as she sat on her mat, oblivious to Markus, her pale face showing loss of life. Her brown hair was tied in a braid and she had brown eyes that reflected the candle light. Then there was Haze of the Light Siens; her real name was White Haze, but was nicknamed Haze. She had short brown hair and bright golden eyes that shone like the sun. She wore a pale yellow gown that stood out against the candles and wore a pretty clip of sunshine in her hair. She smiled encouragingly at Rebecca, who turned to the small portal at her feet.

The older representatives sat on the outer circle of the pattern of life on the floor. They sat behind their young leaders. There was Elsa of the Air, Kumar of the Fire, Irma of the Water, Philip of the Earth, Yulea of the Dark, and Leonard of the Light.

"Rise, youth Sonia," Rebecca commanded.

A girl no older than the youth Leaders appeared from the portal. She looked around the room in surprise and then scowled angrily. "I'm back here!" Sonia yelled, glaring at Rebecca. "Why do you always - ! Ah. I don't know you."

"I'm sorry, Sonia," Rebecca said calmly. She laid a hand on Sonia's shoulder. "We just need to ask you a few questions and you may leave."

Sonia stuck her tongue in her cheek. "Alright. At least you said you were sorry first."

Rebecca smiled. "I've met your type before, let's put it that way. Now – I must ask your vision-self; there has been a disturbance in the balance of power. Who here has been affected? Please tell Sonia so she can correctly pinpoint the problem."

Michiyo, Calaicea, Markus, Max, and their elders stood up.

"Just awhile ago," Michiyo started, "I felt my chakra rapidly emptying from me drastically. As if someone were draining me."

"Even my ancient powers have been tapped," Philip spoke up. His wrinkles frowned and his brown eyes were accusing. "Never before has the Power of the Elders been stolen in such a way. It was so much!"

"I am not the Leader of the Water clan," Calaicea stated powerfully, "But I still felt my power being ripped from me. The effect was shocking and as if someone had stabbed me. I'm sure that Matsuo must've been in worse pain than I."

"I have not suffered as much as Calaicea or Matsuo," Irma spoke up. Her coppery skin rippled like the tides, giving her a ghostly and wavery look. "But as Philip said, I felt my power being taken from me. I hope that other siens have not suffered from this strange occurrence."

"I could barely teleport here," Markus hissed. Fire crackled in the air as he spoke. "I could barely breathe and it was impossible for me to even eat for an hour."

"I hope whoever used our powers dies horribly," Kumar agreed. His dark features made this statement scary and his words sounded like poison.

Max's calmer voice was a stunning contrast to Markus' and Kumar's. "I too felt as if I was weak," Max admitted. "But I wish that this problem be cleared up before blood is shed."

"The power derived from my body was much less than that of my brothers and sisters' sufferings," Elsa added. She bowed her head in sadness. "The Controlling Siens have also informed me that they were Touched by a powerful magic sometime ago as well."

Sonia closed her eyes. Kumar quietly sat down and the candles all went out. The other siens seated themselves around Sonia, lending her their powers. She quietly murmured what she could see: "There's a boy…he's…battling… another boy… something is in his heart…it shines…it's a small ball…it glistens like water…yet flickers like fire…it moves like air…and yet it solid like earth."

Sonia opened her eyes in disappointment. "That's odd," she said, puzzled. "I didn't faint. Usually if the vision is important, then –"

Light exploded from Sonia's eyes. She struggled to stand, and Rebecca held her quietly. The light formed images in the darkness. The Elders and the Leaders watched the two figures battle their way across the room. Each element's sien yelled as Jimmy used their element during the battle. When he hit the ground, they all cheered in different ways (Calaicea and Markus loudly while those like Ayaise and Max smiled satisfactorily). Then the vision restarted itself, replaying the battle over and over again.

"So this is the boy," Rebecca said, tapping Jimmy's figure as he aggressively moved towards Vincent with the river's ice shards. Calaicea hissed. "He seems to have something in his heart that leads him to tap into your elements. How do you think this happened?"

"What is it… that Sonia said…?" Ayaise spoke up. Her voice was quiet and unsure, but it was powerful. Everyone strained to listen attentively. "That it…glistens like water…flickers like fire…moves like air…and is solid like earth. Is…that…the Orb?"

"Ayaise has made a point," Michiyo agreed. "The Orb is supposed to hold our powers, right? So who the hell gave it to that ba–" Philip elbowed Michiyo's ribs. She glared at him and then said, "Okay, okay – idiot."

"We will find out," Calaicea said, standing up. She drew her arm into mid-air and drew out a huge water sword. It was made of pure white ice and it smoked in the room. "I'll kill the boy and get the Mirage Orb back here. When was it stolen?"

"I don't have any reports of it missing its true owner," Rebecca murmured. "The Mirage Orb will destroy Alkali unless it is with its true owner. Could it be that this boy is the owner? But that is also impossible – look at his features. He wears glasses for example. The Mirage Orb perfects faults and makes their features that of many colors. This is not the true owner. But the Mirage Orb would've exploded already. So we can deduct that this boy is traveling with the owner. And this boy accidentally tapped into the Orb's powers in one incident. It should wear off as long as he doesn't do it again."

Everyone digested this without objections. Sonia blinked her eyes and awoke. The figures disappeared and she groaned. "Is it over?"

"Yes," Rebecca said. She drew small ducts of pollen around Sonia's feet. Slowly, the girl began to sleep again. "I'll return you to the mortal world now. Have a nice nap, Sonia."

Sonia nodded, and was sprinkled in thousands of pollen ducts. Then the pollen broke apart in her shape and she was gone.

"So what will we do to make sure he doesn't take our powers?" demanded Calaicea. She sheathed her sword and sat down impatiently. "I don't want to be interrupted again."

"We should send one of us to keep their eye on them," Rebecca suggested. "But the figures that Sonia summoned – we could not see the boy directly. That means he is in a prophecy. This means that if he knows he's being spied on, that will change the prophecy entirely. We're going to have to send a spy who won't reveal themselves until the prophecy is over."

"Did you see the territory?" Max pointed out. She made replicas of the figure in the air using clouds. "It appears to be the Forest of Syuune. Who is closest to that area?"

In unison, all of the siens chorused, "Matsuo!"

"Then Matsuo the Hybrid will do it," Max said confidently. "Who will tell her?"

"I shall," Haze said, standing up. She smiled at Rebecca and said sweetly, "It is daylight now in that area so I shall arrive at her home very quickly to tell her the news."

"Of course, Haze, you may," agreed Rebecca. She turned to the other siens. "Let us disperse now. We cannot freeze time for much longer. We must let life live on – go, Haze, and remember – Matsuo cannot let the boy know anything!"

Haze nodded and the siens one by one disappeared.

Only Rebecca was left. She smiled at no one in particular (or so it seemed) and then said brightly, "Notte. Morita."

The two girls appeared from within the wall. Notte looked sheepishly at the ground. Morita just appeared defiant and ready to explain herself. Rebecca just shook her head. "You girls are spying on us."

"I have a right to!" Notte blurted out. Then she recovered and said quickly, "It is my duty to know about such decisions. I was assigned to look after this prophecy… and, well, we just arrived…"

"I know," Rebecca said reassuringly. She turned to Morita. "And what's your excuse?"

Morita bristled. "I don't need one. Matsuo is my friend."

Rebecca nodded her head wisely. "Of course. But you did not even make a movement to indicate your presence to me until Haze was gone. So you wished to speak with me?"

Notte coughed nervously. "Well yes. I think an Avatar has just died."

"Ah," Rebecca said quietly. Her troubled eyes raked over the elements surrounding her on the ground. "That would explain how the Mirage Orb had one of each element."

"And our Prophecy boy has absorbed it," Notte added. "He borrowed the powers of the next Avatar. If this is true, then Jimmy is the first Lexard-Avatar."

"The person who died…" Rebecca turned to look at Notte in the eye. "Which Avatar…?"

Notte bowed her head in respect to the dead Avatar. "Punic, of the Water."

"Oh," Rebecca said her eyes warm and sad. She let out a deep sigh. "The Western Avatar, isn't it?"

"Yes," Morita interrupted. "But there is more. Punic had an unknown daughter."

"Unknown?" Rebecca repeated sharply. Her eyes became curious and sharp.

"Punic had a Hybrid wife for some time before she died," Notte explained. "They had a daughter who the Hybrid gave away – we do not know who she is, but we have reason to believe that she is forming a new prophecy."

"This is astounding," murmured Rebecca. She turned away from the two girls who bowed in unison. "Thank you for telling me this. You may leave."

Notte and Morita exchanged glances. They each read each other's mind:

The only living descendent of Punic is a three-born Hybrid. And there was only one Three-born Hybrid on his Will; Matsuo Ayumi. If she is going to affect the prophecy then she must not know what powers Jimmy had inherited. At this minute Rebecca will send someone to tell Jimmy this news. We must intercept them.

I'll read Rebecca's mind and figure out who she's sending.

Morita paused to stare at Rebecca's head quickly. She just sent someone. We should hurry up and go now. You're the Avatar – you teleport faster than I do. We'll erase the messenger's memories and let them be on their way.

The two girls left in puffs of smoke. Rebecca turned around as soon as she felt Morita trying to penetrate her mind. Rebecca hoped that they weren't going to stop Haze – Matsuo needed to know about the boy. Rebecca took a floating candle from the wall and quietly tucked it into her breast-pocket for luck.

She turned to the small portal at her feet and summoned another messenger. This time, however, a small red block appeared. It read: no more messengers. Rebecca sighed. She would have to randomly pick a sien from the Archives list. She brought a small rectangle out from her pocket. It was orange with a small circle on it with all of the elements. It opened up like a huge laptop and had one bar for typing in.

Rebecca flexed her fingers and typed in Free Sien as of Now.

Fifty names flashed onto the screen. Twenty were dead, ten were mortal, and another ten were still either on a mission or stuck in a prophecy. There were only ten free siens; Rebecca chose the first name that came to her finger. Norie Vincent.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Haze was flying nimbly over to the Forest of Syuune when she felt something pressing her back. Notte rode on Haze's back for a moment, draining White Haze's energy a little bit. Then Morita caught the Light Sien and quietly took White Haze's forehead. Morita expertly drew power from the trees below them as Notte carried Haze above the foliage. Morita then extracted the message from White Haze's mind, careful not to take out anything important. Then the two girls disappeared, implanting a memory of Haze just taking a stroll through the forest. This all happened in one minute.

"This is odd," Morita said, playing with the golden blob that was Haze's memory. "This holds nothing about an Avatar. Just that Matsuo has to be careful around Jimmy because he has some elements' power."

"We must've intercepted the wrong messenger," Notte cursed. "You talk to Matsuo. I'll take care of the real one."

Notte shot straight after a boy who was flying through the air near Matsuo's house. She read his mind: this was the messenger, she was sure of it. She couldn't see him however – he wore a large black cloak around his shoulders with a pattern indicating that he was on a mission. He was short, however, and didn't seem too powerful. Notte thoroughly disapproved of fighting physically, but he appeared to be an air sien. If she used her powers first, he would easily detect her and move away from it. She took a deep breath and shot into the boy.

Notte body-slammed him awkwardly from the side, catching his flapping cloak and knocking the wind out of him; he rose above her after the impact, and yelled, "Bandit!"

Notte put up a reflective shield. The air blast knocked against her shield and hit the boy squarely in the chest. His hood flew back and Notte made a sweeping gesture with her arm. Too late did she realize who the messenger was – the air cut through his flesh leaving a deep wound across his neck. Vincent screamed and smashed into a tree.

Notte flew down to Vincent and assessed his injuries. One broken rib, a shattered nose, and of course the wound across his neck. Cursing Notte bent over Vincent and began to heal him. After two minutes of treatment, Vincent opened his eyes and muttered, "What the hell was that for…?"

"You can't tell Matsuo that an Avatar has died," Notte answered primly. She tucked a stray hair behind her ear and concentrated on Vincent's rib. He winced as the bone focused on remolding itself. "Otherwise you'll mess up the prophecy."

Vincent tensed, and not from the pain. "What're you implying? That I've messed it up?"

Notte stared at him, still healing. "What?"

Vincent glared at his hands and shook his head. "Nothing – never mind."

"What did you do?" Notte insisted.

"I can block you from my mind," Vincent said triumphantly. He beamed at her as she pouted and moved onto his nose. "And it's nothing; I just thought that you were accusing me of something."

"Which better not have to do with Jimmy," Notte added ominously. Vincent just whistled to the sky and let out a small whimper when his neck-wound was healed.

"So – which Avatar died?" asked Vincent curiously. "Rebecca just told me it was AN Avatar."

"The Western, you know, Punic," explained Notte. "We think that Punic is Matsuo's father, and by stealing his power, Jimmy is basically fair game for her to kill out of revenge."

"Matsuo? Kill?" Vincent repeated. He had never heard those two words in the same sentence before. "But I see your point. Okay I'll shut up about the miracle."

"You listening to someone is a miracle," Notte snorted. She flexed her fingers and leaned away from Vincent. "There. Now you can fly sufficiently. Unless of course you forgot how to fly?"

"I'm hurt," Vincent said childishly, "How can you think that I would forget one of the most basic rules of our birth? I'll be seeing you later – make sure I don't bump into trees, okay?"

He mockingly rose into the air and swiftly flew away in the opposite direction of Matsuo's house. Notte shook her head and listened to the wind. No, Morita was out of range. Where was she, then?

Morita, incidentally, was nearing Shin's camp. She was following the river as she knew that they constantly needed water. She noticed as she walked that some patches of earth had been disturbed and chakra lay heavy in the air. A battle had just occurred. Jimmy? But who would battle them out here? Shin wouldn't dare battle a Lexard – who would be foolish or powerful enough to try?

She melted into a small rowan tree and watched the tent warily. She focused her eyes on the flickering flame tent; Jimmy and his Wusyl were sound asleep. Morita let out a sigh of relief. He looked tired enough to have been fighting, but he wasn't injured. So where was Shin and Aelia?

As if to make a statement, a short burst of sound waves ripped through Morita's spell. She was shot out of her tree as it exploded into flames. Morita whirled around and caught Aelia on the cheek with a long vine from the ground. When both realized who they were fighting, all the hostility washed away.

"Damn sorry, Morita," Aelia said, helping Morita up kindly. "Vincent and Jimmy were fighting earlier, so Shin and I wanted to make sure none of the Council came snooping around."

"Why would the Council come around here?" Morita pressed nonchalantly.

"Jimmy exercised… a few elements," Aelia admitted calmly.

This confirmed Morita's worst fears. So Jimmy had tapped into the other elements. But the Mirage Orb… "Does Shin still have that orb with him?" Morita asked curiously.

"Yes, he carries it with him, always," Aelia agreed.

That couldn't be right.

"Has there ever been a time that he didn't have it with him? Any time at all – even around Jimmy?"

"Shin would never risk something like that!" Aelia cried out in despair. "I trust Shin. He wouldn't just leave it out for people to take. Why? Is that how Jimmy did those elemental tricks? By using the Orb?"

"The Orb," Morita said kindly, "Is not to be used by any except its true user. But what shocks me is that Shin can handle it, but Jimmy has somehow attained its powers. Would you know why?"

"No," Aelia answered grimly. "When we met Jimmy I fainted and Shin brought us to the Mirage Orb, but I don't know what happened to Jimmy. Do you think maybe the Mirage Orb transferred its power to him then? But why would it show up now? Powers are not dormant diseases."

"Perhaps a second interaction…" Morita murmured. She explained to Aelia's puzzlement, "Maybe the Mirage Orb gave off a signal wanting its master and Jimmy was chosen as one of those. The seed for this power was planted and hasn't been able to grow until… but the Mirage Orb hasn't screamed lately, has it?"

"No, I would hear it," Aelia said stiffly, tapping her headphones with her ears. "So Jimmy must've somehow come in contact with it?"

"My thoughts exactly," Morita agreed, satisfied. "Now we've taken up a bit of time. Where is Shin?"

"Other side of the camp to maximize our search," Aelia informed her. "I'll bring you back to the camp. You can examine Jimmy for injuries. Vincent challenged him to a battle over some memory thing, and now he's out like a light."

Morita nodded and eased herself into Jimmy's tent. She eyed his chakra and chi levels; they were badly depleted, but sleep would fix that in time. He had no wounds, bruises, cuts, or any swelling at all. He was beginning to shake off his tired look as well – he looked stronger than before. She pressed her hands to his temple and tried to read his memories. Why had Vincent challenged him?

The memory came to her immediately:

"Let me go, Jimmy! It's not like I'm going to take away all of your memories! Just the one where I told you about Methyl! You're not allowed to know about that."

"No. I need this memory. I'm tired of not knowing anything."

"Come on, kid!" Vincent groaned, his expression pleading this time. "If Notte finds out I told you, or Morita, or even Shin…" He shuddered, but then resorted back to trying to get out of his bonds. "And this Fire thing, too. It's got to go. You seriously messed up the Prophecy earning this power."

Morita watched as Jimmy called the stakes for the battle, and how Vincent altered it. She nearly cursed out loud when Vincent mentioned Nobles. Then, as the battle raged on, Morita saw the raw power that coursed through Jimmy's veins. No doubt he had once touched the Mirage Orb again. But Aelia was honest – she had definitely not seen Jimmy touch it. So it must've been when she was away or asleep…

Morita dug through Jimmy's recent memories with vigor. But no matter how long she looked or how deep she scrubbed his brain, she could not find Jimmy's memory on the Mirage Orb. In fact, the only one he had was when he was hit by its power in the Chamber. (Morita made a mental note to tell the Elders to relocate the Chamber. When had Shin found that?)

Finally, Morita leaned back with a sigh. Notte might know where to look in Jimmy's brain. Too bad she was taking down some messenger. A shadow appeared over Morita's frame. She opened her eyes to see a brown-haired boy. He had a long face and green-gray eyes and wore a ragged purple and brown tunic. He was a Telekinetic Sien, no doubt.

He smiled down at Morita, and a huge boy stepped out from behind him. He was nearly 6 feet tall and had a huge build. He was dark with a prominent chin and frowning black eyes. They both stared at Morita, the large boy with one of indifference and the white boy with that of amusement.

"Kill them," the boy declared, "And take as much currency as you can."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The dark boy lunged forward, rocks flying out from the ground. Morita cursed and leaped backwards. She would have to get rid of this tent, unfortunately. She stepped aggressively towards the two bandits and they went flying through the air as the earth beneath them crumbled. The large boy used the debris and constructed a platform for the white sien, who somersaulted and landed on a tree. He lithely landed on the platform, and smirked triumphantly at Morita.

Morita, however, had her hands full. It was obvious that this boy was no ordinary Earth sien. He was trained and held the advantage of height and power. But that didn't mean he'd be able to win, of course. Morita twirled around, letting the fire from the tent gather around her body. Then, she shot it at the boy. He was not expecting Morita to be a Hybrid, and got hit head-on by the blast. He was thrown backwards, but not defeated.

Jimmy woke up with a start, knocking Dipole aside and making Morita flinch. "What… the –?"

"No time for questions!" hissed Morita. "Can't you see we're being attacked?"

"By who?" Jimmy shouted, standing up. He righted his glasses and glared at the two boys.

"You have the pleasure of being attacked by David Bamako, Bandit Leader Extraordinaire!" the white boy yelled. He made a pose and the dark boy bowed respectfully. "And this is my Head Thief, Ilizar Zumi!"

"Are they famous?" Jimmy asked, turning to Morita.

"We're the best of Alkali, fool!" David laughed. "Most thieves bother with mortals, stealing from them because they have such poor quality technology and are defenseless! But we – we prey on the powerful siens because THEY are a challenge and they have more money! Am I right, Ilizar?"

"Sometimes," Ilizar grunted carefully. He glared at Morita. "Now is not the time to gloat, though, Master. This is a strong girl, no weakling as you thought she was. I'm afraid we may have to pull out if she keeps this up. I don't think they have any valuables worth taking, either, sire David."

"Sire David?" Jimmy repeated, aghast. "You mean you guys are Nobles?"

"No, David is my Noble," Ilizar replied, sighing. He concentrated on Morita. "But enough with the talking!"

Morita had been gathering energy until then. She sent a huge blast of heat towards Ilizar. He became rooted to the spot by fiery tendrils. Ilizar screamed as the fire bit into his skin. David didn't even look horrified. He looked at Morita and glared. Morita was thrown simultaneously into Jimmy, who just processed that David was a Telekinetic Sien. Those were rare.

The psychic-wielding boy teleported over to Morita and gave a kick jab to the gut. Morita reflected the pain but only just using an array of nearby pebbles. David reared back, horrified. "You got my tunic dirty!" he yelled. He took his hand and squeezed Jimmy's neck angrily. "Your damn friend got my tunic soiled!"

Ice shot out from the air and sliced David's hand off. He screamed from the pain, blood spurting out of his arm. Then a whirlwind pummeled into his backside and he fell forward, gasping and holding his arm. Finally, the earth swallowed him and his hand up like a mouse trap snapping a mouse's spine.

Then, there was silence.

Morita stood up, her lip bleeding a bit, and Jimmy panting for breath. He turned around, looking for their savior. "They used earth, water, and air," Morita whispered, looking around. "If it were Notte she would've appeared first and then attacked."

Peacefully, a girl appeared out of the foliage. Jimmy stared. It was the calm girl from his dream! Her long blue hair trailed down her back and dew clung to it; she had two small white tufts of feathers sticking out of her hair like ears, with sapphire jewels in the middle. She wore a cerulean poncho over her shoulders and a navy blue dress under it. Her boots were white with a tinge of mint green on the edges and her eyes were a smiling sky blue.

"Matsuo!" Morita cried out, relieved. "What're you doing here? Your house is a mile away!"

"Three miles and a half," Matsuo corrected, but she quickly analyzed Ilizar. With a flick of her wrist, he stiffened and fell to the ground, paralyzed.

Jimmy just stared at the spot David had been, and Ilizar's twitching body. "What just happened?"

"I entombed David several feet below Earth's surface, and I blocked Ilizar's nerve system using his own blood," Matsuo answered cheerily. "But David will be able to get out using his abilities soon, and then he'll help Ilizar. Why don't I take you two to my house? I can fly us there."

"Aelia and Shin!" Jimmy cried out. He looked wildly about him. "Where are they?"

"Here," Shin said glumly, stepping out from behind a tree. He was rather disappointed. To be honest, he wanted to shoot the big guy. He smiled when he saw Matsuo, however. "It's good to see you, Matsuo."

"Likewise," Matsuo said cheerily. She pumped his outstretched hand. Then, she jumped a little. "Ah, I forgot – you're empowered by the Mirage Orb."

She shook her hand a little and smiled at Shin who looked guilty. "Don't worry, I heal fast," she said, and then turned to Jimmy. Her smile vanished, and was replaced by a mask of solemnity. "You, on the other hand. I met Vincent on the way here."

"Vincent?" Jimmy and Shin repeated sharply.

"He and Notte were flying for my home," Matsuo chuckled. Not getting the joke, she explained, "Notte and he were yelling at each other about the basics of flying. I wasn't sure why, but it sounded funny by the way they were explaining the spell structures. They're already waiting at my house with news, I hear."

"Ah, yes," Morita said, turning away from Shin so he couldn't see her eyes. But Shin had caught a glimpse of alarm before she turned away. "We need to speak to you about something important."

"Prophetic, I assume," Matsuo mused. "Let's not waste time. As I said, David can get out of any mess, from missing math homework to being buried a million meters under the Earth's mantle. I'll fly us over."

As Matsuo started to make the spell for transport for six people, (including Aelia and Dipole), Morita walked over to Ilizar, who was struggling to fight the invisible bond around his veins. Morita smiled smugly at him and delivered a vicious kick to his gut. He doubled over in pain, and Shin said worriedly, "Err, Morita, let's not get violent, please…"

Then Matsuo raised her hands above her head and they were floating above the ground. Jimmy was astounded – he felt so light, like a feather, and yet heavy for the pull of gravity was steeper. Shin and Aelia were naturals with flying it seemed – they floated through the air without any work. Some people, however, needed some coaxing.

Morita waved her arms around a few times, and her face got a little green. Jimmy swam around in the air enjoying the moment, but then he noticed how high up he was. He nearly felt sick himself. Dipole clung to his clothing and whimpered, "Master…I think I just peed…"

Jimmy crinkled his nose but sympathized – they were nearly cloud-level. He could get his clothes cleaned later.

Matsuo sat cross-legged and she propelled them through the air. Jimmy eventually got over his fear of falling, seeing Matsuo so coolly in charge. Then, he looked down and gaped.

The Forest was gone. It had been replaced by civilization; large mud-houses stood next to bright buildings. There were giant trees carved into the shape of skyscrapers; huge towers made only of sandstone; see-through buildings that moved with the breeze; buildings constructed out of sunlight and disappeared in the darkness; and the people. There were so many of them dotted across the city!

There were peddlers with brightly colored clothing, girls wearing tight shirts and short skirts, boys wearing loose shirts and baggy pants. Then there were peddlers wearing strange neon blue clothing that changed colors from light blue to royal blue and they wore caps that morphed into beings and talked to passerby. There were girls who wore tunics of different colors depending on their element, and had their hair tied up in different styles; there was the Kyz style of having the hair tied in a braid and then it ends in spikes; there was the Sonja style of having the hair tied in a bun which would be able to turn into a whip-like ponytail when danger was near; and there was the famous Poe style which had the hair cropped short with a small bun on one end; the bun could hold items inside of it from a small piece of gum to an elephant. Then there were boys who wore their tunics across their shoulders, around their waist, or just the pants. Their hair was either shaved, short, or in another foreign style like the Joni style which made the hair into short waves and could protrude anything from a sword to a dagger from the middle of the scalp.

Jimmy sadly watched the town disappear and then be replaced by mountains. Lots of mountains. They were rocky and steep with many brown dots moving across them. Dots, Jimmy realized, were Earth siens. He peered at them; they wore brown tunics with green borders. The mountains weren't really mountains either.

Suddenly Matsuo jerked them over these "mountains" – which turned out to be a huge wall. Inside the cavern's walls was a huge Earth utopia. There were about millions of caves carved into the mountains' sides, and in the middle sat a large boulder that was covered in dark, rich soil. The people looked wearily as their shadows passed over their heads.

"If you're wondering," Matsuo said loudly, jerking Jimmy away from the spectacle under him, "They're a little cautious. The Earth and Air siens just called a truce from war."

Jimmy looked sadly back down at the people. They were scurrying away from him, and some men looked as if they were going to shoot them.

Then Jimmy felt soft earth under his feet. He looked around in surprise. They were in front of a quaint house that was on a beach. It was wondrously still inside the mountains; they continued out around the beach – finally disappearing under the water a few miles out.

Just as he was about to enter the house, Morita caught him on the collar. "What?" Jimmy asked, puzzled. "It's her house, isn't it?"

"It's her earth house," Morita said as if that explained everything. "Since Matsuo is the Hybrid of the Forest, the Earth, she has to have an Earth-house. But Matsuo's main element isn't earth."

Jimmy pieced two and two together. Of course – she had to be a water sien. She had blue clothing, blue hair, blue eyes…and she was frighteningly talented with blood.

Matsuo faced the water and placed one palm on the ground. The earth shook for a moment, and then, in the space in front of Matsuo, it opened up. It revealed a dark staircase going down under the beach. Matsuo stepped daintily down without a word. Shin, Aelia, Morita, and then finally Jimmy followed. As he stepped into the darkness, the sand around his feet closed the entrance. He gulped and followed Morita's glowing hand of fire carefully.

Shin too carried a ball of fire and Aelia was constantly twisting the knobs of her headphones to adjust the gravity levels so she could hear clearly.

As they progressed, Jimmy noticed a pale blue light ahead. He let out a sigh of relief. Out of the darkness – he was beginning to feel claustrophobic.

As the pale light warmed his body, he gaped. There was a thick layer of ice around them like a tunnel, and the sand around his feet were wet. He was stepping on a sea floor. But he could breathe. He understood as he followed Morita through the water. The tunnel captured air thus allowing them to breathe, but the bottom allowed them to touch the sea floor. Jimmy thought this was eerily creepy. They were on the bottom of the Abyss. Who would want to touch the bottom of a sea floor? Suddenly the pale light coming off from the creatures of the Abyss through the ice did not seem so nice anymore.

"Master Jimmy," Dipole said nervously.

Jimmy turned and nearly screamed. A giant squid swam over the ice structure, ignoring them but still terrifyingly close. Its tentacles never left Jimmy's mind as he continued to walk down the tunnel. He hung closer to the group. As they walked away from the earthy tunnel, Jimmy realized that he missed feeling earth under his feet. The slippery sand and inky water he stood on was hard to walk on and he was sure that something would take him down any second. He even felt his heart jump once and it threatened to be tugged right out of his chest. It was as if a cold hand was wrapping around his heart, squeezing, trying to pull it out. Then the pain stopped and Jimmy continued, wondering if it was just the water pressure around them. Then, Matsuo stopped midway through the tunnel, and cursed.

Two figures sprang out of the ground, one behind and the other in front of them. David was behind Jimmy, and he immediately threw Jimmy to the side using his psychic powers. Ilizar grabbed Matsuo by the neck and tried to strangle her. The two were trying to use the element of surprise.

Unfortunately, something kicked in for both of them. Jimmy felt himself standing up, and then he punched David good and hard on the nose. Water streaked out from his feet and wrapped around David, who yelled in surprise and struggled against the bonds. Jimmy saw his eyes glow purple, and he quickly froze the water so it couldn't move. David hissed as the ice froze him in an uncomfortable position. He tried to hit Jimmy with another telekinesis blast, but Jimmy thought quickly.

He shot a quick burst of fire at David. It blinded him for a moment and scalded his face. Morita joined in. There was no good earth under their feet, but Morita made well with it. She used the sand around their feet (letting more water into the tunnel in the process), and swirled around, letting the sand gather around her body. Jimmy dug into the sand, under the water, ignoring Dipole who whimpered as they entered the dark water. He saw the blast through the ice and the fire that followed.

When he came up for air, he scrambled shakily onto the ice and watched Matsuo and Shin take care of Ilizar. Matsuo had disabled him with the air swirling him around in circles so he couldn't focus on the earth and summon it. Then Shin was roasting the boy alive with blasts of fire.

Jimmy quickly looked at David. Damn it – he had escaped. Jimmy could tell by the way the water was moving – he was swimming away. Jimmy turned to look at Ilizar. He was struggling, and his tough skin was preventing him from dying. Then, Jimmy saw it the same time every else did. Ilizar's large hand touched a pile of sand. In his mind's eye, Jimmy imagined what would happen: he would cover the entire tunnel in earth leaving only him to breathe. They would all die within seconds.

Jimmy lunged forward to try and do something. His eyes went from Ilizar's body to the earth on the ground. Then, for some bizarre reason, Ilizar hit the ground with a thump. Everyone stared at his body as he flailed about, unable to bend the earth to his will. Jimmy, startled, continued to stare at Ilizar's body. Then, he looked behind him, where David had been. Ilizar shot across the tunnel, dragged by his arms, his face still deep in the sand. Everyone jumped up as he went under them. Jimmy had slow reflexes.

Ilizar smashed into him, and Jimmy rode him like a horse. When they stopped, Jimmy panted. He was feeling tired. But he hadn't used any of his weirdo-powers. Not really. And what was with Ilizar's body? Suddenly Ilizar came alive beneath him, and he stood up, roaring like a triumphant gladiator.

Jimmy was thrown back, and as he did, he looked straight up into the ice tunnel's top and the Abyss' darkness. Ilizar was suddenly thrown up through the ice tunnel without another word. Everyone stared where he had been, as if trying to remember if he had been there. Jimmy stared at the spot he had passed through. There was a huge hole there. Why wasn't any water pouring in? He looked away to see if anyone was hurt. Water poured on his head, and he glared up at the hole again. It froze in mid-air, about to douse him again.

Finally, Shin remarked, "That's another added ability for the list. Telekinetic ability…"

Jimmy put his hands over his head and felt the water turn into something he could control. He then shaped it into the shape of the hole above his head and patched up the ice tunnel. He sealed it off with some of the excess water around their feet.

Morita just shook her head as if this was something she was going to hear about later. "Let's keep moving, people. We could get ambushed again."

This time the pace was quicker and hushed. Jimmy and Dipole clung to each other like frightened people. They saw the giant squid two more times. To Jimmy's horror, he saw a hand in its beak as it passed overhead. He shuddered and walked even faster.

Then, they stopped at a ladder. Matsuo flew up it in a second, her hands and feet moving with agility. Shin went a little slower, but still quickly. Aelia hopped up using the sides as a support. Morita kicked the ground and a boulder carried her up. Jimmy was left to painstakingly climb the ladder. Dipole was even able to fly up the entire way.

When Jimmy breathed in the fresh smell of the salty air, his first impression was that they were on an island. Yet when he looked closer, in the distance, he could see more land.

"Where are we?" Jimmy asked. His voice croaked. He hadn't spoken in a very long time.

"Air Territory," Matsuo explained. "My house is near here."

Jimmy turned accusingly to Morita. "I thought we were implying she lived in the Water Tribes."

"She does," Shin said, shrugging. He jogged after Matsuo as she took off at a steady pace towards a white city. "But the Air Territory is in the middle of Alkali."

"We're still on Alkali?" Jimmy asked, surprised. "But we're on a different island!"

"Correction," Aelia said sharply, "There are no islands here. We were just on the Earth Territory. All the Territories are connected by underground passageways that used to be mountains."

"Oh," Jimmy said and followed the group feeling like a fool. However, his mood instantly brightened when they reached the Air Territory's main city, Sonja. It was filled with white-haired people, white-eyed people, white-clothed people, and altogether pale people. There were one or two black people, but they still wore white clothing.

All of the buildings were made of see-through glassy material that was more like the shifting current of the winds. There were some buildings that were warm, some that were cold, and some that swirled like a tornado, concealing the people inside. It was an altogether amazing territory with the sun shining everywhere at once.

Matsuo stopped at a small cloudy building. It opened up at her touch. They entered it curiously. Jimmy just stared and wondered when he would be able to afford such a lodging one day. It was nicely furnished with a few blue and white couches, a small pool in the corner, white-washed walls, and a huge ice elevator in the middle of the structure.

"We're going to the top floor to meet Notte and Vincent," Matsuo informed them. She stepped onto the small elevator, which enlarged itself as each person stepped on. Convenient, Jimmy thought. The ride was smooth sailing, unlike the Chamber's elevator. Jimmy's stomach groaned as he remembered the drop.

They arrived at a beautiful room that was large enough for a three ballrooms and one football field put together. There were icy windows all around, showing off the sun at all the angles. Playing in this great expanse was Notte and Vincent. Vincent was sitting cross-legged in the air while eating what looked like pale white grapes. Notte was on her back in the air, her hood off, and chewing on what looked like a corn-on-the-cob.

"What're you guys doing?" Matsuo asked accusatorily.

"We're eating," Notte and Vincent replied in unison.

"And where did you get that food?" Matsuo continued, cocking an eyebrow.

"If we told you, we'd be lying," Notte said, chewing her corn happily. Jimmy was surprised – she had white hair that curled at the tips that framed her red eyes. He had never noticed that. Then again, he didn't know much about Air Siens. Vincent said nothing, finishing off the grapes.

Morita shot a bolt of lightning at Notte. She dropped the corn in shock, and it landed on the floor with a hiss and a crackle. Vincent flinched and dropped his grapes as well. Morita collected them, stared up at Notte smugly, and then returned it to Matsuo.

"Oh, Jimmy's here!" Vincent said, grinning. "How're you doing, kid? Last I saw you, you were conked out – err…"

"I know about the fight," Morita said sternly.

Notte looked from Vincent to Morita and then her expression clouded. She stared at Vincent with death in her eyes. "What fight?"

"Nothing!" Vincent said, looking skeptical and apprehensive. Then, worming his way out of the situation, he said quickly, "So, Matsuo, now that we're all here, we have some news to tell you. Everyone here must know – except one."

The fights that had erupted among the six siens died. Everyone, all ten eyes, stared at Jimmy. "We're sorry," chirped Matsuo as if that helped. Her eyes were sad and truly sorry, but her tone was final. Morita had no sympathy at all – she looked like she was going to throw him out unless he moved. Shin looked at Jimmy as if to say, okay, okay, you've helped and all, but now you have to leave. Seriously…

"I'll keep him company," Vincent declared. He swooped down and caught Jimmy's shoulder. His grin was wiped off his face as he whispered, "Let's go. You don't need to hear this."

Vincent managed to push Jimmy into the elevator. Jimmy was struggling against Vincent's strong grip. He needed to know what was going on. He didn't want to be in the dark again. That dark that meant that everyone knew something he didn't.

"Floor nine," Matsuo said calmly.

Slowly, Vincent lowered the elevator the few flights. Jimmy stopped fighting after a bit, and just huddled in the corner, away from Vincent. Vincent felt bad – he really did. But there was no way he could tell Jimmy anything. Not yet.

Vincent led Jimmy into the room they reached. It was a white room, of course, but it had a lot of color lining the walls. It was a complete plant room. It had paintings of greenery on the walls, it had trees literally growing straight out of the cloud-floor, and it had a lot of potted plants sitting on the ice-window-sills. Vincent found a sofa that was made out of a huge Jurassic park leaf. He sat on it and placed Jimmy on the inside so he wouldn't be able to run away.

Jimmy smacked Vincent hard across the side of his face. Vincent reeled back and gaped in shock as a trickle of blood slid down his cheek. He stood up, his hair standing up on end, and cut Jimmy's body with scissors of wind.

But Jimmy was not feeling this pain – he was upstairs, on the top floor of Matsuo's house. Where Matsuo, Notte, Morita, Shin, and Aelia was.

"…absorbed the power of a dead Avatar," Notte finished. She placed a hand on Matsuo's shoulder and looked into her eyes sorrowfully. Matsuo returned the stare with one of determination. "I trust that you can keep Jimmy in check with your powers? The Council chose you because you were nearby, and powerful enough to sustain him in case he … uses the elements."

I used the elements? Jimmy thought as he floated closer to hear. He realized he was a ghost and let out a little squeak of surprise. Aelia's head snapped towards him, glaring through his spirit. Jimmy shuddered, but didn't say anything. Aelia fiddled with the knobs on her headphones, glared at him again, but then looked away.

Jimmy let out a sigh of relief and turned to the conversation again.

"I can do as you wish," Matsuo said carefully. She gestured towards the sun, which was high in the sky. "While it is still light we must eat. I am going to assume that Jimmy has not eaten anything since last afternoon, when he had Shin's tuna."

Shin nodded, and then painfully looked away. He missed Tomeka's presence. He felt alone and dejected without her. "Yes. We don't mean to intrude on you, though…"

"It's fine," Matsuo said with a smile. "Jimmy has been through a lot and deserves some food. All of you look like you can take some food. I'll get some things from the food storage on the ninth floor."

Chills went down Jimmy's spine. He was supposed to be on the ninth floor.

He was immediately jerked back into his body, and he collapsed on the mossy earth, a searing pain ripping through his chest. Vincent was panting opposite of him, and sweat washed away the bloody cut on his cheek.

"I hope…you…learned your…lesson…kid…" Vincent panted, heaving himself onto his feet. He staggered a bit, and then stood up straight. He seemed to take in Jimmy's immobile figure, and then his triumphant expression faded. He made his way over to Jimmy and sat Jimmy up.

"Look, kid," Vincent said softly, "I didn't mean it. I'm sorry."

"What…?" Jimmy blinked, trying to heal the wounds on his chest. They would bleed out his lungs if someone didn't help him. "What are you saying?"

"The stuff I was yelling at you about," Vincent said, placing his hands on Jimmy's criss-crossed wounds. They healed almost instantly and the effect was like cool water bathing him. "I'm sorry about calling you a basta- wait, how old are you again?"

"I'm turning eleven this year," Jimmy said, poking his ribs. He didn't realize that Vincent was staring at him in shock until he looked up to see the boy's jaw wide open.

"Hell, Jimmy, did you just say eleven?" Vincent said, shaking Jimmy like a Ragdoll. "Life is so cruel! What're you, like, 5'1"?"

"No, I'm about 4'11"," Jimmy said, trying to see straight. For a person his size, Vincent was much stronger than Jimmy thought.

Vincent threw up his hands in despair. "Good Lord Zepetiyah why am I blessed with the height of an eleven year old? Why? At least, in another dimension, make me at least 5'6", I implore you…"

Jimmy tried to imagine a tall Vincent and sadly couldn't come up with a proportional picture. Just then Matsuo stepped in, smiling demurely at him. She was followed by Shin and Aelia, who curiously examined the room.

"This is your storage room?" Shin asked, poking an exotic pink plant. It exploded in a puff of green and nearly poisoned Shin. Aelia just managed to trap the gas in a pocket of sound waves and brought it to Matsuo, who accepted it in a jar of air.

"Yes," Matsuo said as if nothing happened. She tucked the gas into a pocket in the air and it vanished. "You may not want to touch anything here."

"Es la mantanza de hoy," Aelia said in a perfect Spanish accent, pointing to the flower Shin nearly killed himself on. "It means the Kill of the Day. It's a rare flower found only in Syuune. Why do you keep it here, Matsuo?"

"All my plants are here," Matsuo said cheerfully. She brought out a stack of edible food from behind a tree trunk. In her hands were mushroom soups, herb teas, and what looked like clouds on a stick. "These cloud-sticks are really good, a specialty here in Air Territory. Jimmy, I'm sure you're hungry – try one."

Shin thrust the cloud-stick into Jimmy's hand and chewed his own curiously. Shin's face showed surprise and then content. He ate the rest of the cloud-stick without realizing it, and began to gnaw on the stick. Jimmy licked his hungrily. A light, airy sensation went through him, like he was flying again, but now he was not bound by anything. He saw his mother, cradling him in her arms, and his father, teaching him how to hit a baseball…

Soon he too was chewing on the wooden stick and disdainfully threw it away. Shin was already asking what was on their minds; "What happened?"

"The cloud-stick allows you to fully enjoy your fondest memories," explained Matsuo brightly. "It truly is a remarkable experience, isn't it?"

"I saw my parents," Jimmy said, and felt guilty. He hadn't thought about them in the past week. What was happening to them right now? Where was he? Was he in the mortal world, still trying to get good grades?

"I saw Tomeka," Shin said sadly. He cleared his throat and elaborated, "She looked so beautiful, I… I wish she was here." He broke off and turned to Aelia. "What did you see?"

"Nothing but the Forest and my family," Aelia said. She shook her head and said, "But I know that they are all gone now, so it is no use crying over dust. What about you, Matsuo?"

Matsuo's face broke for a moment and then returned to a happy smile. "I saw many things that have to do with the Prophecy. It will continue to nag me, Morita, and Notte until this is over seeing as we are the Overseers for it."

"What about Vincent?" queried Jimmy. "Isn't he an Overseer?"

"Yes," Matsuo said, following Jimmy's gaze. She laughed. Vincent was making gun-firing noises and was dancing about in the air, dodging invisible missiles and gunning down invisible jets.

Then the dream ended and Vincent was left to stare at the crowd of people, hushed, watching him. Then, for the heck of it, he continued, enjoying the moment. They all laughed, as if nothing could bother them at that moment.

Then, Notte and Morita came running into the room. Notte grabbed Jimmy's shirt and pressed her hand against his chest. Her face was screwed up in concentration and Morita shooed Vincent away, who was suddenly anxious. Then, Notte's face turned hard. She turned to the expectant siens and announced, "Jimmy's Orb is gone."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"What do you mean it's gone?" Matsuo repeated, aghast. Her face was etched in utmost horror.

"David, he must've --! Ohh, that --!"

"No, no, wait, Jimmy's turning eleven!" Vincent interceded quickly. Notte stared at Jimmy versus Vincent, cocked an eyebrow, and then said,

"Err, well, David that… umm…GYAAH, DAVID! He must've taken it while you guys were fighting in the tunnels."

"Oh, damnit," Morita snarled. "I knew that they couldn't have put up such a weak fight without a reason! How long has Jimmy's casket been empty?"

"Since, probably, he took David's power," snorted Notte. They all stared at her expectantly, waiting for her to explain. "Oh – you see, the Mirage Orb that Jimmy has taken his powers from was duplicated into his heart, which has now been stolen. Great. But in exchange David traded his powers for yours."

Jimmy felt weak-kneed. The Mirage Orb – Shin's Mirage Orb – had been duplicated into his heart? So he wasn't a human being anymore? He was an animal – or a machine – from the inside of his gut to the outside of his Lexard instincts?

"Where could they be?" demanded Shin, his face taut. Jimmy wavered when he saw Shin's furious face. He had every right to; if the Mirage Orb had given Jimmy its powers, the one sitting in his pocket held nothing.

"Well…" Morita closed her eyes and concentrated. "We were nearly to the Air Territory when it happened. So naturally David, if he's swimming, would be just making it to the Earth Territory. But if he has Water then it may be quicker."

"Then let's hurry up and go!" Aelia cried out impatiently. She and Shin ran from the room and took the first elevator. Notte and Morita exchanged silent words between minds, grabbed some snacks to eat, and then rushed down as well. Matsuo, Dipole, Vincent, and Matsuo were last.

As soon as they exited Matsuo's home, Matsuo stopped them. "Wait," she said loudly, "We can't just go charging off for the Earth Territory yet."

"Why not?" challenged Shin, bristling.

"Because we don't know if David is tricking us," Matsuo said calmly. She laid out the information that was running through her head. "Think of it this way – what if David is hiding still in the tunnels and will swim right by us into the Air Territory? We're going to have to split up."

"Split up?" repeated Vincent. His eyes bulged wide. "Isn't that dangerous?"

"Of course it is," Morita said, "That would mean being vulnerable to attack. Okay, let's hurry up and just organize ourselves into groups."

"No time!" Shin said impatiently. "We'll just randomly assign leaders. Erm, Notte, you take Jimmy, Dipole, and Aelia. You should also take Vincent in case. Morita, Matsuo, and I will cover this territory."

Vincent and Notte nodded and they rushed off for the tunnels. Morita shook her head in exasperation. "What?" Shin asked, turning to each of their puzzled faces. "I did it randomly."

"That's not it," Morita said, and then she pointed to each member in turn. "Look at the group. Notte is an Avatar, but her main element is Air. Vincent is a little hyperactive and may not pay attention at times. Aelia has excellent hearing but can't go up against a sien in a battle. Dipole can barely even protect Jimmy, and Jimmy only has Telekinesis. They also happen to be kind of the weakest of the eight of us."

"Well!" Shin grumbled, "Notte and Vincent was a good choice, I mean, they're powerful. But the Guardians and Jimmy may lessen the fighting levels."

Morita nodded. "Exactly. Let's just hope that the Earth Siens take pity on them."

As Notte reached the beach, Jimmy got ready for the tunnel to be opened. Instead, Notte walked right on the water. She stepped out a few feet, splashing on the top of the water, turned around, and called out, "It's all right! I enchanted it! Aelia, Jimmy, you can step on it. Vincent, Dipole, would you mind flying? I can't sustain that much weight over such a large body of water." Vincent nodded and swooped up into the air, enjoying the sunlight. Dipole flit anxiously but a few feet over the water, staying close to Jimmy.

Jimmy stepped on the water cautiously. It was a slippery surface, but it was tangible. He stood up on it. How cool – when he stayed still, the water carried him to a new place. He ran after Notte this time, confident that he wouldn't seep through. Aelia followed after testing the water with her headphones. She walked slowly, examining the fish and the sharks below them.

"Is there anything that can eat us here?" Jimmy asked nervously as he saw a shark fly under his feet. They didn't circle him at least.

"Plenty," Notte said with a shudder. "But we should be okay with our chakra warding them off. Don't feed chi into the water, or they'll swim for us, got it?"

Jimmy gulped and nodded.

They traversed the distance over the water for what seemed like ages until they reached another beach. As soon as Jimmy stepped foot on the sand, he collapsed on it. He had missed the earth under his feet, supporting him. Water was definitely not his main element.

Suddenly Notte's head snapped up. She hissed and pulled Jimmy out of the sand. Vincent also looked tense and Aelia was growling. Dipole was whimpering as usual, this time hiding behind Jimmy's head. Earth Warriors approached them from the village they had passed not even an hour ago. They wore tunics and skirts and some swords at their belts, but nothing else to distinguish them from others. But the chakra blowing off of them was enormous; even Jimmy could feel the prickles on his skin.

A girl stepped forward from the rest. She had long black hair with a few green streaks in it. She had brown eyes and had lightly tanned skin. Her clothing suggested she was more than just a native; she had a necktie indicating she was not a noble and a circle over her heart. She had a one-piece dress/tunic with green pants under it. Notte bowed to Michiyo, scolding the others to do the same.

Jimmy bowed down, curious to know why. "Strangers," Michiyo said at last, "In our country. They are not native here."

"We're looking for someone," Notte ventured, "A boy with white skin and his accomplice is a large black boy. Would you happen to - ?"

"NO," Michiyo growled. Notte fell silent. "As Leader of the Earth Siens, I would know about more trespassers. You – you are prime examples. Think you could sneak into the Earth Territory and blow us up, didn't you?"

"What?" Jimmy sputtered. "We wouldn't do that! We don't even know how to!"

"Don't speak for the group," Vincent chided, cuffing Jimmy. "The War for the Air and Earth Siens just ended. That doesn't mean we're allowed to be here."

Jimmy's blood froze. Suddenly he felt alone and hated by all of the Earth Siens guarding their one leader.

"We come here only in search for two people," Notte said finally. "If you have not seen them we will be on our way."

"Good!" Michiyo smirked, crossing her arms triumphantly. "I knew the Air Territory was too weak to fight us anyways!"

Notte and Vincent froze, about to comment when Notte said quickly, "We are not here to fight, Michiyo, just as a search party."

"And are these friends of yours?" asked Michiyo. "More Air Siens I presume?"

"Actually, no," Vincent said. He stepped forward. "The white boy has stolen the powers of an Avatar and the black boy is an Earth Sien."

Michiyo surged forward, knocking Dipole and Aelia aside, and pinned Vincent to the sand using the gravels around him. Shackles rose up from behind Vincent and wrapped around his arms. He struggled and was pulled to the ground by shackles on his feet. He hated the bonds that held him to the ground after awhile, tasting sand in his mouth. He couldn't even go over and wash his tongue?

"You see?" Michiyo snarled, "They are no more but Air Siens! They are here to vanquish our kind! They are after one of our brethren; another Earth Sien! We will kill you where you stand!"

"Aye, aye!" the other Warriors chorused, raising their Earth swords above their heads. Notte cursed and Vincent got a ball of air ready in his hand. Jimmy just cowered behind them, Dipole following his example. Aelia stood by, her hands on her headphones warily.

"I bet you kidnapped that refugee behind you!" added Michiyo, drawing a sword from her hidden-case. It was cleverly disguised as a design on her shirt and the small dagger turned into a huge sword. "We will wash this earth in blood for what you have done!"

Michiyo sprinted forward, slicing her blade on Notte's sweater. The fabric ripped and Notte's sleeve came off. Vincent flew off into the crowd of warriors, bashing their heads together and throwing up air blasts at those who didn't try to shoot him down with boulders. Notte growled and threw an air bolt at Michiyo, who was sent flying through the air. She quickly righted herself by landing on a floating boulder, which she kicked at Notte. Notte sliced it in half using her fingers and snatched the gravel that fell onto the ground. She threw it onto the ground, instantly creating a sand-like smokescreen. Jimmy felt Notte grab his collar and hiss, "Let's move!"

Notte dragged Jimmy (and Dipole) behind a large tree. She swiftly constructed what looked like a see-through suit and slapped it onto Jimmy. It strangled his body, pressing against him strangely. "It'll keep the Earth Siens from sensing your footsteps and being from the ground," explained Notte. "Now stay here and don't do anything out of the ordinary. We're going to have to calmly explain the situation, and –"

"AHA!" an Earth Sien wounded Notte in the back with his daggers. Jimmy, horrified, just stood there. The warrior did not see Jimmy, merely a foot from Notte's crumpled body. "There! We got one of them, Michiyo-san!"

"And I've got the boy," a woman said, holding Vincent up. Vincent was sleeping with a dart in his back. Jimmy stared at Vincent, who had been fighting like a maniac up until that moment. Jimmy knew he had to do something. Just then Aelia's shriek rang clearly through the air. All the siens winced and made room for her as she focused her headphones' sensitivity. Eventually, it translated in Earth only.

"We come in peace," Aelia said loudly. "We are following some bandits who made off with a shiny ball. Do you happen to know where they went?"

Michiyo paused and then said, "Good Finx, did you say bandits who have a shiny ball?"

"Yes," Aelia said, nodding quickly. She slowly helped Notte stand. Notte groaned and felt her back. She felt the dark blood on her back and quickly motioned for Jimmy to help heal her. Invisible to the others, Jimmy numbly started to heal Notte's back. As his chi investigated her innards, he speculated she had one punctured lung and two cracked ribs. That was some hit.

Michiyo was conferencing with the other warriors. Finally, she turned to Aelia and bowed quickly. "We have seen those that you speak of. They are within our village. But they are no bandits; they are travelers, as are you."

Vincent was suddenly shaken awake by the woman jiggling the sword. He kicked, spat and punched the air as he tried to wrestle free of the rock-cords that bound him to the sword. "Unhand me, heathen!"

Notte glanced sharply at Vincent. She said calmly, "Would you mind if we had a word with these "travelers"? They have taken something from us and we need it back."

"I suppose," Michiyo said, and she bowed again. "Let me bring you into our small town, the Village of Nakashima. We are the finest in teaching art in all of Alkali."

Jimmy couldn't believe it. First they were attacking them, now they were inviting them in? Jimmy wondered if Aelia had used any persuasive sound waves when she spoke to them. Michiyo ushered them into the city proudly. It was the big boulder than turned out to be the Art Collection of the village; there were beautiful paintings of lush rainforests, milky rainstorms, and even brilliant thunderstorms.

The warriors disbanded and mingled with the other people anxiously waiting for their return. Michiyo sheathed her sword into her tunic, and showed them around the hulking boulder. Jimmy was tempted to take off his suit, but Notte kept giving him warning glances when Michiyo wasn't looking. He mouthed, it's uncomfortable, and she replied, but it's safe.

They walked through the boulder, which Michiyo kindly explained was a meteorite that used to be filled with lava. They hollowed it out and turned it into a living museum. In fact, there were many paintings of the comet landing in the middle of the crater. They hung on the cool walls, still tainted black from the magma that had been captured inside of it. The lighting fixtures were rather primitive with torches lining each painting, but it gave the museum an amazing feel like being inside a cave.

Finally, after circling the boulder's many exhibits, Michiyo reached a lighted room. There were two mahogany doors, one that had an M and the other had an N. Michiyo pushed these open, revealing a modern living space; to an extent. There was a television in one corner of the room, sitting on top of a shiny black counter. There were green and black sofas and chairs scattered around the room, and a lot of fragile pots and paintings. The stunning view looked over the village from the top of the boulder, with large windows tinted green. Two boys sat facing the windows. They did not notice that Michiyo had brought Notte, Vincent, Aelia, Dipole, and the invisible Jimmy along.

"Get us some food," David snapped, not even bothering to look at them. "Your best."

"We're timing you," Ilizar added, and he turned around to smile at Michiyo. Then he noticed she had company. He jumped up, and used the Earth from the boulder to wrap it around Notte, who was the most obvious. The disturbance caused David to look, and he too assumed a fighting position. He stood up and surveyed the position. Then, he smirked.

"It's Notte, Vincent, and -- the Finx," he said smugly. Michiyo was frozen, not sure what to do. She wasn't sure if David was an Avatar as he claimed (his chakra proved that).

"We'll kill you!" Vincent growled. "You stole the Mirage Orb from Jimmy!"

"Speaking of the Lexard," David said, grinning, "Where is he? Hiding from humanity because he's so ashamed? Or maybe he's dead since I took his heart out in the tunnels? It was simple – as soon as dove underwater, I joined him and just snatched it. At first when I tried to take it from afar, I realized it was attached. But then I slammed him against the wall and it was jarred loose."

That explains the tightening in my chest, Jimmy thought.

"Now, kill them, Ilizar," David said, laughing cruelly. Ilizar tightened his grip on Notte, and she cried out in pain. Vincent rushed forward to charge Ilizar, but was stopped by a wall of rock. It separated Ilizar from Vincent and cut the room in half. There was no choice but to break through the wall. But while Vincent pounded away at the wall, Notte's screams got louder, and Michiyo finally decided to help. She pounded into the wall, and realized that it was stronger than it looked. Even for her it would take her awhile. They smashed the wall, each trying to get to the other side.

Then, Jimmy decided something. He had been on the sidelines for a rather long time. He had been beat up a lot of time on the mortal world. But here – it was time to start over. He was special – he might as well use that, right?

He burst out of Notte's spell, and she screamed, "Jimmy, NO!"

Jimmy slammed into the wall, and crushed it between his fingers. He felt something jolt through his chest, and he realized that the power couldn't work without the Mirage Orb. No – he could do this! He didn't need the Mirage Orb! He lashed out with one arm. The entire wall shattered like mirror shards; the gravel hit the ground and dust rose up, coating them in its embrace. Jimmy strode forward bravely. But his heart – or whatever was there now – was beating like a jackhammer.

Ilizar's fist smashed into Jimmy's glasses. He stumbled backwards a bit, his glasses broken. His eyes hurt and stung, but he gathered all that he had in his hands, grit his teeth, and fired at Ilizar.

A blast of fire erupted from Jimmy's hands. It slammed into Ilizar, who hit the ground with a large boom. David was left standing alone, weak and helpless. Jimmy ran up to him, yelling, and brandishing his ball of fire in his opposite hand. He shoved it into David's chest before David had the chance to move. David exploded in a burst of flame, and Jimmy hung on tight, worming his hand into David's chest. He felt his hand reaching meat, and he pushed deeper. His hand was passing through the rib-cage…then some more muscle…and then Jimmy felt what he had been looking for.

If one were to be walking a mile away, they would hear the explosion clearly. They would hear the window shattering into a million pieces. They would hear David and Ilizar screaming and crashing onto the floor. They wouldn't, however, hear David and Ilizar escape through the confusion. They wouldn't hear Jimmy panting, or the way his heart jumped as he held the Mirage Orb in his bloody hand.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"We have failed to keep our possession of that Orb!" hissed David as they sprinted through the tunnel to the Air Territory. Their bruises and cuts were quickly healing, but the damage had been major. David had been paralyzed when Jimmy had taken back the Mirage Orb. David could use his Telekinetic Powers again, but the powers were not the same – there was no thrill of feeling the elements pulse through his veins.

Ilizar winced. Half of his face was scorched and it left black flames etched like a tattoo across his cheek. He just nodded and they sped up a bit. As soon as they stepped on Air Territory, they found themselves in more trouble.

A wall of earth crashed down on them and Morita glared at David's twitching body. "Looks like they took a serious beating," she said, noticing Ilizar's face. "But they've come at an excellent time. I was getting a little bored here."

"Yes…" Matsuo hissed, her usually tranquil face replaced by a dark and stony face. She snarled, "Let's kill them!"

Shin's hands blazed and his hair flew up as he got ready to kill the bandits. "They took my Mirage Orb," Shin growled. "They will pay!"

David looked on in horror as he saw his doom through the rubble. He curled up into a small ball and tried to hide from the siens closing in on him. He felt heat slash into his back and he cried out in pain. Then, he felt angry. What was he doing? He didn't have the six elements and more at his command, but he was a Telekinetic Sien for crying out loud! He stood up, and made random hand signals. Morita, Matsuo, and Vincent watched him for some time, trying to figure out what he was doing. Then –

Purple snaked out of his hands and wrapped around Shin's throat. Shin coughed and spat fire onto the line of purple. It went up like oil, and incinerated David's hold. He leaped back, shaking his hand in agony. It was tainted black from the burn. Ilizar stood up and rammed into Morita. David smiled triumphantly until he saw Morita carry Ilizar weightlessly off her body and chuck him at the clouds beneath their feet. He plummeted, a dark speck against the endless blue sea below them. David gulped, and he felt a crushing blow to the pressure point on his neck.

When they regained consciousness, David and Ilizar sat in a white room, surrounded by five powerful siens, one Lexard, and two Guardians. "Welcome to hell, buddy," Vincent said, grinning with a sneer. David was sitting in a glass tube separate from Ilizar, who sat in a metal cage surrounded by lasers. Matsuo had lent them her torture room for a bit, which was on the eighth floor.

"There are a few things I would like to say," Shin said, but instead of interrogating David, he turned to Matsuo. "When I had a dream but a night ago, it told me that you would be able to tell me about the Mirage Orb. The dream told me that the Mirage Orb must change and has to be moved to another Chamber as soon as possible."

Matsuo's face turned grave. "Yes. I know where that place is. There are only two Chambers – one in the Earth Territory and the other in the Water Territory."

Shin bristled. "Why not the Fire Territory?"

"The person who created it was not a fire sien," Matsuo said as if that explained it. "After we ditch these losers we are going to deliver the Mirage Orb to its new Chamber. Then the Change will begin."

"The Change?" repeated Jimmy.

"It's a transformation that takes place so that the Mirage Orb can adapt to a new surrounding," Matsuo explained. "But if the Orb is not delivered to the new Chamber, it will wipe out Alkali and the other universes linked to it – including this Earth."

Shin nodded, and turned back to David and Ilizar. His gaze had turned murderous. "Do either of you have girlfriends?"

David was shocked by this question. "I have many fangirls I suppose – but no."

"And you would scare away the Devil's daughter," Vincent said, pointing to Ilizar with a contemptuous smile.

"Well, I do," Shin said coldly. He pressed his face close to the jar David was trapped in, and glared equally at Ilizar. "And let me tell you something. If you ever cross our paths again, I will have to bother her and get her to kill both of you. The best part? I'll help her."

A shudder went through both David and Ilizar. The troupe left, and Matsuo turned off the lights.

When they squeezed into the elevator, Shin turned to face the company he had grown to love and rely on for support. But now he swallowed his pride and said, "I can't do this alone. I need you guys – but not all of you. Numbers will attract company like these idiots again. So just three of us."

Before anyone could volunteer, Shin added, "I've already decided. Jimmy, obviously, must come. No matter how weak he is, he's part of this damned prophecy." He smiled quickly at Jimmy and it sent warmth through his heart. Shin smiled at him! That was rare.

"I'm going to need Matsuo," Shin continued. "She lives in the Water Territory and knows it better than I do. I'll need her to help me navigate and who better than the Water Territory Leader?"

Notte and Morita exchanged nods. "Vincent should go," they said in unison. Vincent's head snapped up, and he stared at the girls incredulously. Morita explained, "Well, it's kind of obvious, isn't it? We can't bring Notte because she's an Avatar and that could cause a power imbalance. I can't go because I have black hair – that's a sign of an Earth Sien. And Earth Siens and Fire Siens aren't accepted as the greatest allies in the Water Territory. Plus, Notte and I stick out. Vincent has blue hair – no one will really notice him."

Shin caught onto Morita's logic, and nodded weakly to Vincent. Vincent had been listening to this with growing excitement. He jumped up in the air and did a quick "YES!" to the sky, and then landed humbly as if nothing had happened.

"So we have our team," Shin said nervously. He turned to Matsuo. "When should we leave?"

"Tomorrow morning," she said. "It's only logical as you have exhausted your chakra and chi levels from fighting those thieves, hungry, and no doubt you should get one night to relax and kick back."

To everyone's surprise, Dipole spoke up. "I like Matsuo's idea," he said, and then quietly, he added, "This means that we'll be safe with so many people around."

"Good, then it's settled," Morita said. She waved to Matsuo and hugged Shin. "We should be going now. I have a feeling that this will affect the prophecy."

"So much about the damn prophecy…" Shin muttered. Notte bent down and pat Dipole on the head. She hugged Vincent, then Aelia, and finally Jimmy.

As they left, Shin looked to his new companions. "We leave tomorrow morning," he sighed. "Let's get as much rest in as possible."

Jimmy nodded and went straight for the kitchen of the house. His mouth watered when he saw its contents; mountains and mountains of food! There was one side labeled mortal and the other side sien. He realized that it meant what type of food it was. He eyed some Jell-O and decided that he might as well try it. When Jimmy took the Jell-O, he also decided that some chicken with gravy was good, too…and a hamburger…and some French fries…and who could eat without a little salad…?

Jimmy brought his mountain of food to the table on the top floor. He laid out its contents and began to eat with vigor. Shin soon followed, carrying an armload of food as well. When they realized what they were doing, they laughed a little, but then returned to hungrily eating. Jimmy hadn't realized how empty his stomach was. He ate like he was a starved animal. Shin held back a bit, and offered some of his food to Jimmy when he had finished the salad. Jimmy took the plate gratefully, and finished that off, too.

Dipole and Aelia stared in astonishment as Jimmy then resorted to chugging down a gallon of milk. "Take it easy, Jimmy!" Aelia said, teasing, "You'll be able to eat tomorrow!"

Jimmy still continued to eat. The mortal food…it reminded him of the mortal world again. When he tried to think about his parents and his old life after having some of Matsuo's cloud-sticks. Now he could remember their faces; his mother was a little taller than him, with a round face and warm brown eyes. She was always scolding him, telling him to do his homework and to stop playing Wii. But she was always spoiling him with tortillas and egg omelets whenever he was feeling down. She had short black hair that she always tied into a bun. His father was harder to remember. He had scraggly brown hair and contacts that were colored blue. He wore old T-shirts with logos of colleges like Yale and Harvard, but Jimmy remembered that his father had never attended college.

As Jimmy was struggling to remember if he had any siblings, he turned to Shin. He wondered if Shin knew about his mortal life. "Hey, Shin?" Jimmy asked, turning to Shin. Shin looked up, eating a piece of meat. His hair had turned a dark black with red on the edges and his eyes were a contrasting white. Jimmy made a self-note to ask Shin about that. "Shin, do you remember your mortal life at all?"

Shin blinked, as if struck by an invisible hand. "Of course I do! Why? Do you?"

Jimmy shook his head. "Very vaguely. But I wonder why I couldn't really remember them until now."

"His mind was erased," Aelia input. Shin, Jimmy, and Dipole stared at Aelia. She sighed and said, "The day we met you your brain-waves were normal. After I woke up, your brain-waves had been altered. But I didn't really think about it until now."

Jimmy furrowed his brow. Shin snapped his fingers and stopped chewing his meat. "Aha! When the Mirage Orb screamed, you turned into a Lexard! Could it be that Lexards lose their memories of the mortal world?"

Jimmy miserably finished off the last bit of watermelon on the table. "Now I feel really depressed…I'm beginning to hate the fact that I just had to follow you into that Chamber."

To Jimmy's surprise, Shin added, "Well, I don't."

Jimmy snapped his head up and stared at Shin. Shin hated him – just a few hours ago they were laughing and seemed like friends, but were they really?

"The day I met you," Shin said carefully, "I was only concerned about protecting the Mirage Orb. Then I thought I had to look after you – but you can take care of yourself. Sure we've gotten into a lot of trouble, but I would've messed up the same way too. So the way I see it, all that's happened is that I've made a new friend."

Jimmy felt something snake up into his throat and lodge itself there. Jimmy got up, excused himself, and then ran to the elevator. Shin watched him go down the elevator – no doubt to find a place to sleep. Aelia and Dipole approached the table and began to gingerly pick off some of the leftover food. Dipole took a lollipop and Aelia accepted a bowl of soup.

"You're being mushy on him," Vincent said, appearing from the ceiling. He was chewing what looked like Doritos, but they were white colored and had an odd-smelling green sauce on it. Shin crinkled his nose – he would never truly get accustomed to Air-Sien food.

"What do you mean, I'm too mushy?" Shin asked warily.

"You're saying you befriended him," Vincent snorted. He chewed the white chip with a crunch. "Barely a day ago you would have called him a Lexard and to do some random job so that he would leave you alone. What happened?"

Shin thought for a second. "Things change."

"Nearly as fast as your hair," teased Vincent. He dodged the fire blast that came his way. "I'm going to take a nap, too. Matsuo is beating the crap out of the two thieves on the eighth floor."

Shin chuckled. "I'll join her in a second."

As Vincent went down the elevator and reached the eighth floor, he had to dodge a spray of water. Matsuo was literally pounding the poor bandits; David's tube was nearly completely filled with water and Ilizar barely had any room to breathe with so many flames.

"Hey, Matsuo," Vincent said cheerfully. He stuck his tongue cheekily out at David. David managed to make a face in return, even though he was running out of air. Matsuo turned to Vincent. He caught a glimpse of Matsuo's angered face; it was like looking into Medusa's face. He shuddered but then relaxed a bit when her calm mask shrouded the hatred behind it.

"Hello, Vincent," Matsuo said lightly. "You need help finding your room for the night? You, Jimmy, and Shin will have to share the guest room on the fifth floor. Is that okay?"

"It's fine," Vincent said, waving his hand around in the air dismissively. This seemingly harmless act made David sputter in his tube. Nearly all of the oxygen above his head had seemingly disappeared. He glared through the water at Vincent.

"Thanks for staying over," said Matsuo, smiling.

Vincent stepped back on the elevator, and willed it for the fifth floor. When he was placed at his stop, he saw that Jimmy was already asleep.

It was a nice room with yellow walls and a few pictures from the Nakashima village (Michiyo's), with peaceful waterfalls and lots of forests. There were three beds lined up against the wall to Vincent's right. The first bed held Jimmy. He looked different without his glasses; younger, Vincent realized. Now he could easily see the eleven-year-old boy that Jimmy really was. Vincent examined the beds closely and noticed that they were also yellow and brown, like that of a hotel. The windows were drawn, showing off dark red curtains that were either made of silk or velvet. The floor was soft underfoot, like rabbit fur, and was colored like sand.

It's warm was Vincent's first thought as he walked across the floor to the far side of the room. On his left were drawers, a dresser, a large mirror, and finally at the end of the room was a bathroom. It was fairly large with white-washed walls, sleek white tiles, a marble counter, and a large stain-glass window overlooking the Sonja. The sun was just beginning to set on Sonja, and the buildings glittered like fireflies.

Vincent yawned. He went over to the bed next to Jimmy's, and plopped down. He turned the lamp off that sat on the nightstand in between their beds. Jimmy's round glasses were perched on it. It was very warm, and Vincent didn't even realize he was asleep against the fuzzy covers. It was dark, and the only noises came from their light snoring.

Shin was also making his way down to Matsuo to inquire where the room was. When he reached the Torture Room, he overheard what they were talking about.

"…I wouldn't know about that!" snapped Ilizar. He screamed and there was a bright flash of light.

Shin quickly stepped in. The room was burnt in many areas, the floor was slippery, and there were mini-tornados circling Matsuo's feet.

"Err, Matsuo," Shin said lightly.

Matsuo turned around, and hissed. She looked like a demon-possessed until she realized Shin was talking to her. She suddenly switched to a warmer face, and said sweetly, "Oh, hi, Shin. Your room is on the fifth floor. Jimmy and Vincent should already be asleep in it."

"Thanks," mumbled Shin. Aelia and Dipole huddled in the elevator, frightened by the flash. When Shin was stepping into the elevator, he couldn't ignore the screams nor their pleads for mercy. He felt sorry for them, a little bit. Matsuo wouldn't kill them; but they'd be close. VERY close.

Dipole shook his head and whispered, "I'd be scared to know what Matsuo's Guardian must be like."

"It's a Tomehio," said Shin. "That's a fox-like creature that has a silver-blue coat and a light green gem in the middle of its forehead. It's very intelligent and speaks every language, I hear. But Matsuo hasn't brought Glaci out, so we shouldn't look around for it. Maybe her Tomehio is sleeping or hunting right now?"

Dipole shuddered. "Still. It must share some of Matsuo's traits."

Aelia whispered lowly, "It will have all of them – the intelligence, the wits, the speed, and the power…"

Shin stepped into the room and was met by a cacophony of snores. He should've known – their combined noise wasn't much but it would irritate Shin all the less. He wasn't used to Vincent's snores and Jimmy's heavy breathing together.

Shin sat down on the last bed. He noticed, with a grin, that there was a moveable cot next to his bed for Aelia and a small box full of feathers for Dipole. Dipole landed sleepily in the box and Aelia curled up on the cot. Aelia fell asleep before Dipole. As Shin lay down, he was tempted sorely to go to sleep. But he couldn't – something was nagging him awake.

Then, something poked his side. He turned and saw that Dipole was nervously flitting by him.

"What is it, Dipole?" asked Shin.

"I can't sleep," Dipole admitted sadly. "Can you help me move the box closer to Master Jimmy?"

Shin cracked a smile. "Sure." He got out of bed a little reluctantly and helped lift the box of feathers next to Jimmy's bed. This time when Dipole settled down into the bed, he fell asleep instantly. Shin rubbed his eyes and made his way over to his bed. When he lay down, he finally fell asleep.

But he wasn't going to be left alone quite yet.

He was dreaming; he knew that. The images around him were a little blurry and he was moving way too quickly through the clouds. He couldn't fly, too…

But he landed outside of Tomeka's small house in the Earth Territory. His heart was ripped up as he saw a girl sitting on her roof, her black hair whispering in the wind. Tomeka was playing with small fire animals from the forest in the sunset. He sat down next to her, invisible, yet longing to reach out and hold her at least once. Then, she leaned her head on his shoulder. He felt her hair, and she felt his shoulder.

She looked up at him and he looked sadly down at her.

They kissed for a bit, each missing the other very badly yet not saying anything. Shin melted into happiness; it was Tomeka for sure – no dream could replicate the feelings they generated. Then, they broke apart and Tomeka said, "You're there, right? I'm not going insane?"

Shin shook his head and wiped a few tears from his eyes. "I'm here, Tomeka. I'm going to the Water Territory tomorrow. The prophecy isn't over."

"Okay," Tomeka said, reaching out and taking his hand. They held hands for a little bit and then Tomeka continued, "It's been really lonely here. What about you?"

The small fire animals danced around their heads, casting a glow on Tomeka's face. She looked like she had been crying for some time, but her strong face indicated that she wasn't going to say so.

"…It's been lonely," Shin admitted, and he watched the sun sink below the water level far away. He would be returning to his body soon; he could feel it. "I wish you were with me right now."

"Me too," Tomeka said, hugging him tightly. Shin returned the hug, sighing deeply. The smell of her skin, the scent of her hair; he would miss it tomorrow morning. He could barely feel her now – he must be fading. She looked at his shimmering spirit and said, "You're leaving?"

Shin nodded mutely. He couldn't think of anything to say. He was torn – he so badly wanted to stay with Tomeka but he also needed to return the Mirage Orb to the Water Territory. "I'll be back, Tomeka, I promise," Shin said, cupping her face in his hand.

"Promise you'll come back alive," Tomeka said, holding Shin's hand in her own.

This time when they kissed, Tomeka cried a little bit when she felt the warmth leave her lips. Even when she hugged him tight to her chest he faded away into the darkness, slipping through her fingers unwillingly. But she wiped the tears away and faced the darkening night. "He's coming back," she said to the darkness, "And if you take him, Death, then be prepared to take me too."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Jimmy woke up with Dipole shaking him awake. The Wusyl balanced a silver platter of food on a small floating disk of earth and he struggled to keep it aloft. Jimmy noticed the dilemma and reached over. He grasped the edges and nodded gratefully to Dipole, who collapsed on the mattress.

"Thanks, Dipole," Jimmy said, surveying the food. There were some blueberry muffins with some pale looking tea. "What's this drink?"

"Matsuo made it out of Puyki blood and mint," Dipole said, pointing to the pale tea. "The creature looks like a small anteater with wings. It came here, injured, late last night. I helped her wipe off the blood from the table on the top floor and she saved it for breakfast. Isn't that resourceful? She says that Puyki blood is very strong."

Jimmy sipped a bit out of the glass. It was like tasting a cherry mixed with a strawberry. It was an unusual but not unpleasant taste. He ate the blueberry muffins with a gusto; he felt better after eating so much yesterday. He looked to his right and nearly laughed.

Vincent was sprawled on the floor, snoring and wrapped up in his own cloak. Shin was lying on his side, not facing Jimmy. His hair was light mahogany this time. Jimmy finished his breakfast quickly and felt full for the first time in a week. He burped a little and then put the platter down.

"Matsuo is up?" Jimmy asked, stepping quietly out of bed. "What time is it?"

"It's 5 AM Earth time," Dipole answered, flitting into the bathroom with Jimmy. Jimmy looked at himself in the mirror. He could hardly see himself. Then he realized that he had left his glasses on the nightstand. He motioned for Dipole to get it for him. Jimmy tried his best to comb his hair, but his hair kept bouncing up and his cheeks were red.

Dipole appeared, carrying Jimmy's glasses. He shoved them on and stared in the mirror. At first, he saw himself; unruly brown hair, serious brown eyes, and healthy white skin. Then a second Jimmy peeled off from the reflection and gagged back at him. It was a boy with the same hair, the same eyes, and the same skin; but it couldn't be Jimmy. This boy was strong – he looked confident yet he didn't smile, and he wore white clothing with blue-thread lining. He smiled finally at Jimmy, and his face lit up. Then that Jimmy shattered into a million pieces, and it was just Jimmy staring at his own reflection.

Jimmy turned slowly to Dipole. "D-did you see that?" Jimmy asked, stammering a bit from shock.

Dipole cocked his head to one side. "See what?"

Jimmy shook his head. "Never mind. Could you thank Matsuo for me about the great breakfast? I'll come up for seconds once I get dressed and take a shower."

"Shower?" repeated Dipole, puzzled. "Like a wash?"

"Yeah," Jimmy said, about to disrobe. "I haven't bathed in a week. I've been in the Forest the whole time."

Dipole crinkled his nose. "But you know about Showers. Do you know about Shiwers?"

"Shy-wers?" Jimmy repeated, lost again in Alkali's terminology. "What's a Shiwer?"

"Every time a new day starts you are instantly cleansed and replenished of any chakra or chi loss," Dipole explained. "It is more convenient that way."

"Oh," Jimmy said, buttoning his shirt again. "Okay. Should we wake up Shin and Vincent?"

"Maybe," Dipole said with a shudder. "But can I wake up Shin? I'm afraid of what will happen if Vincent wakes up."

"Why?" Jimmy asked, curious.

"Master Vincent nearly squashed me last night so I had to sleep on your pillow," Dipole said.

After shaking the boys awake, Jimmy headed upstairs. The interrogation room was empty. As Jimmy escalated to the top floor, he wondered if they escaped. Then he saw that Matsuo was happily packing blue knapsacks and decided that she had either let them go or let them go to hell. He hoped she had let them go – it would be cruel to kill someone.

"Good morning, Jimmy," Matsuo said kindly. "How was your sleep?"

"Peaceful," Jimmy answered truthfully. He looked at the silver apples that Matsuo was packing and asked, "What are you packing? Provisions?"

"You don't want to enter a new Territory only to find out you're allergic to their food," Matsuo said with a smile. "We don't know if you have any allergic reactions to Water Territory food, so we're going to play it safe. We should hurry, though. The gates close at 6 AM."

"The gates?" repeated Jimmy. He was echoing everyone this morning, it seemed.

"There are gates that link the Air Territory to the Water Territory," explained Matsuo. "It's to prevent immigration during the day. But the gates remain open at night for trade and close at 6 AM."

"Wait – trade?"

"You guessed it," Matsuo said, smiling evilly. "We're going to be selling David and Ilizar as trade."

Jimmy stared, open-mouthed at Matsuo. "Isn't that illegal?"

"Only in the Light Territory," Matsuo said coolly. "Now let's wait for the others outside. I'm all finished packing our gear and Glaci should have fed them by now."

They stepped onto the elevator and it began to descend. Jimmy took one last look at the dining room, and then the torture room, and then the plant room, and their bedroom, and finally the bottom floor which was misleading now that he had seen other sections of the house.

When they stepped outside, it was still dark out, but a small sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon. Jimmy froze when he saw a majestic navy blue fox in front of him. Then he remembered Dipole's description and decided it had to be Glaci. It had a magnificent white underbelly and a wise face. Its eyes were a mix of royal blue and a bushy tail that separated into white prongs.

"Glaci, hi," Matsuo said, petting its head. The Tomehio nuzzled Matsuo's hand, like a kitten. Jimmy reached over and tentively pet its back. Glaci's eyes snapped open, and it whirled its head around to look at Jimmy. Jimmy froze and wondered if he should've let Glaci smell his hand first…? But then it sat down, and rolled onto its stomach. Jimmy bent down and began to rub Glaci's white stomach and found himself liking this small addition to their team.

Shin exited next, with Aelia lugging his backpack. She and Glaci exchanged silent words through guttural noises and finally the two sat next to each other, satisfied. Last came Vincent, who was depressed. His forlorn face drew attention to his clothing: it was a white T-shirt with a blue wave insignia on the bottom-right corner. His shorts were completely blue, and his shoes were dark blue shoes with a zipper up one side.

"Vincent, what're you wearing?" Shin asked, cocking an eyebrow. His pale red eyes were accusatory. "You didn't rummage through Matsuo's stuff, did you?"

"I wish," Vincent moaned, "I might have found something better! Dipole and I were getting ready when I found clothes for us under our pillows. We're supposed to wear them in the Water Territory so we'll blend in."

Shin and Jimmy stared at the foreign clothing and wrinkled their noses. Even Aelia cringed away from the outfit.

"We have to?" Jimmy asked pleadingly to Matsuo, who nodded firmly.

"Yes," she said simply, "We'll stick out if we wear our usual clothing. You need to blend in until we reach the Chamber, which will take two days minimum."

Two days, Jimmy thought, a sinking feeling in his heart. Then, he remembered something. The prophecy that he had been told in the beginning. He fought to remember the words and it came crashing down on him:

You will have four by your side

One who has seen the world

One who will never be the same

One who will deceive and kill you unless you are cured

And one who is not what they seem.

The one who has seen the world will despise you

And yet will turn out as one of your greatest allies.

The one who will never be the same will prove to you something

And you must live your life with its lesson.

The one who will kill you will also be your best friend

And you must realize that there is more than one weapon.

The one who is not what they seem will mark the end of the adventure

Even though they have been with you since the beginning.

A battle doesn't have to be fought with your powers.

A friend doesn't have to love you.

A killer doesn't have to kill you.

And a mysterious person doesn't always have to be the least understandable.

Jimmy yelped as the prophecy ran around his head in circles, like music that was being pounded into his ears. He felt Shin hand him a piece of paper and a knife. Without really thinking, Jimmy cut himself on the index finger. The pain instantly ceased, but a new pain arose. He stared, horrified, as his blood pooled around the white paper like someone was drawing with it. He felt as if something was being sucked from his one little finger, and the tiny bit of blood that should've come out was like a fountain; sometimes it was stronger and sometimes it was weaker.

Then, his finger sewed up itself with a sharp sting and the blood stopped moving.

Everyone crowded around the picture. It showed Matsuo, smiling indifferently up at them, with Glaci in front of her. Next to Matsuo was Shin and Aelia, smiling at each other. Then came a girl they didn't know; she had shoulder-length hair with small bows on the side of her head. She wore a dress that ended where her legs began and she wore colored-in pants under that. She held a large sword over her shoulder and she grinned challengingly at them. Next to her was Vincent, who was sitting like a small boy on the back of a Guardian. It was a girl with white, pointed ears and large eyes. She wore a skimpy top and black under that, and had small wings coming out. She had high boots and wore it light blue.

"Who are they?" Vincent asked, indicating the mysterious girls.

Jimmy shook his head, and turned the paper over. There, in red ink, was the prophecy, nearly written out. Everyone read it for a little bit and then Matsuo leaned back.

"So one of these people," she said, turning the paper back to the drawing side, "Will kill you, another will be mysterious, another will hate you, and another will change your life…"

Vincent stepped forward, and pointed to the girl with bows in her hair. "I bet she's going to hate you," Vincent deducted, "Since everyone here is nice to you. But then again…who's going to kill you… maybe the girl who's giving me a piggy-back ride? No – she's a Guardian."

Before we could further ponder this, Matsuo took charge. "We can't be late," she reminded them, and herded them towards the back of her small cloud tower. Before they left, Jimmy scooped the bloody scroll up into his pocket, hidden in the front of his shirt. There was a pocket of magic there where he could store it within his body from his chest. Most Earth siens' magic was strongest from the heart. The Water's strongest was from the arms; the Fire's strongest was from the back; the Air's strongest was from the waist down; and the Light and Dark's strongest points were located in their heads. There was a wagon, like that from the Oregon Trail, and chained to the front where the horses were was David and Ilizar. They looked remotely different, Jimmy realized.

David's hair had been cut shorter, and both had black tattoos on their arms. Matsuo gestured for everyone to enter the wagon from the back-side. It was actually quite nice; there were some bean-bag chairs, a table nailed to the floor for playing cards, and a bookshelf. Jimmy sat down near Matsuo, who took the reins of the horses that were going to pull the wagon. Shin, Vincent, and the Guardians randomly chose seats as well.

Then, the wagon started forward. Jimmy looked in front of them and saw two brown ponies that were trotting at a steady pace. When he looked behind him, however, he saw the city fly by him at an incredible speed. He didn't even feel like he was moving.

Jimmy pulled himself up to where Matsuo was sitting. Her company made it seem a little less uncomfortable. Shin and Vincent started to discuss battle techniques and the Guardians pitched in with their own ideas. Matsuo looked warily at Jimmy. "What is it? Are you wondering about the horses?"

Jimmy nodded desparate to feel like he belonged.

"They're mortal horses," Matsuo said simply, "But the fact that they're mortal makes their speed almost mach four here. The clouds aren't used to horses, so they speed it up to get rid of it. You know, sort of like speeding up the recovery of a foreign disease. We're taking advantage of that "immune system" right now."

Jimmy understood and watched David and Ilizar run to catch up with the horses. They were obviously scared and yet said nothing. They had to concentrate on being able to keep their speed up to the horses' and yet not lag behind or risk getting run over by the wagon.

"They're not talking," Jimmy noted.

"They can't," Matsuo said with a warm smile. "If they do, they'll be shocked painfully. It's part of the curse I put on their arms."

Jimmy watched in horror as the tattoo took on a new meaning. He would have to be careful with Matsuo more often; she knew how to do such powerful magic?

Then, the horses came to an abrupt stop. Jimmy and the others (except Matsuo) marveled at the gate they were at. It was open, but the horses felt like they had to stop. They were walking on a bridge that descended down onto a separate part of the island, which appeared to be nothing but water. But through the gates, if Jimmy looked carefully, he could see the outline of a tall, swirling spire of ice under the water. The gates themselves were icy and had icicles barring the way.

Matsuo stepped off the wagon and delicately tapped the gates. They evaporated like smoke, and the horses were jump-started into action. Matsuo jumped back onto the wagon just as they cantered forward. This time Matsuo hauled David and Ilizar onto the wagon, still chained, but not running. David and Ilizar were panting hard and they glared at Matsuo with venom.

Jimmy stared in awe at the air bridge; it was a wispy tendril of white with some potholes in it but the wagon progressed smoothly even over large gaps.

Finally, David spoke. "What part are we being sold to?"

A spasm rocked through his body, and he threw back his head. Blood spat from his mouth and he twitched horribly near Jimmy, who revolted and scooted a little closer to the edge of the wagon. When the convulsion stopped, David rubbed the back of his neck and glared at them, trying to press an answer.

"We're selling you at the Gyung Yun," Matsuo said quietly. "The Working Men's."

David revolted in horror. As if to make up for the pain, Ilizar yelled, "Are you crazy? Before he died, they sold Hitler there! HITLER! And he didn't even survive the master he was sold to! On the mortal world they still thought he died by their stupid hanging causes!"

Ilizar flopped like a fish, racked by pain into the wagon. Shin yelped in surprise and scorched Ilizar nearly clean through. Ilizar howled and crawled away from everyone, near Matsuo and yet far away from Shin. He rubbed his large hands tenderly, and scraped off some of the dead skin.

Jimmy was staring at Matsuo. "A Working Men's society or something?" Jimmy pressed.

"The Working Men's is a guild that tortures and kills siens," Matsuo explained coldly. She glared steely-eyed at David. "They take siens and impress them into slavery. They will die a slave, never to become free. It's the second-worst place to be on Alkali."

"Second-worst?" Jimmy asked, gripping the seat tightly with both hands. What could be worst than slavery?

"There is a morbid jail in the Dark Territory," Matsuo said ominously. Her voice dropped low so only David, Jimmy, and Ilizar could hear her. "It is said that no one escapes it – no one has for a good fifteen years. That is a long time to be imprisoned. Those who do not pass certain regulations after three years are imprisoned in the jail forever. Most of those brought in for the three year trail are prejudice choices – 60 are Dark, 20 are Fire, 5 are Water, 5 are Earth, 5 are Air, 4 are other siens like David with extra abilities, and the remaining 1 is Light. The worst part is that in Emmett's Jail, once you are taken back to your cell after failing the 'regulations' and declared an official member of the jail, they take away your powers."

Jimmy felt his heart stop. His knuckles turned white. His face was drained of color, and he knew it. David and Ilizar were still, frozen, thankful that they were at least allowed to keep their powers.

They take away people's powers.

This echoed in Jimmy's head. Who would go through this torture? Tough siens, yes, but would anyone deserve such punishment?

Dipole crawled into Jimmy's lap, and beamed up at him. "We're on clouds!" he said giddily, pointing to the close-up water. Then, his face faded into something of that of disbelief. Jimmy gazed out across the water. There, sitting waist-deep in water were two people. One was a girl with gray-ish black hair and red eyes. She wore black clothing that was soaked through, and next to her was a shivering boy, with red-black hair and a tuxedo. What were they doing?

They both looked each other in the eye at the same time. Jimmy shuddered, and he froze. They had fangs. Not wolverine fangs – real fangs. They were curved and soaked in blood. Yet only one of them was bloody. Vampires? They existed here, too?

Matsuo noticed them, too. She halted the horses, and gave the reins to Shin, who poked his head up to see what was wrong. "Don't move," she said, addressing David and Ilizar more than Shin.

She stepped off the cloud bridge, dropping on the water below. She walked on it, gracefully, leaving circles around her feet. Jimmy, without thinking, jumped after her. As he was falling, he realized what he had done. He was about to yell when he smashed his nose into a solid wall. He stood up straight, shocked. He was in a black bubble. He couldn't see through it all. Yet what he was on was solid. Was he dreaming? Had he drowned and died? Death was quick on Alkali –

Then the bubble opened up, and laid him gently on the water's surface. The boy's hand was glowing black, and he was holding his arm. The girl patted his back and handed him to Matsuo, who carried him wordlessly back to the wagon on air. The gray-haired girl followed, stepping where the clouds disappeared. Jimmy sat on the top of the water, wondering how he was going to get up.

Then a bubble of water formed around him, shimmering and glistening like morning dew. He rose through the air, passing the gray girl and Matsuo, who carried the boy. When Jimmy could grab onto the cloud bridge, the bubble popped in a spray of water, soaking most of the people.

"Hey!" Vincent yelled, jumping out of the wagon. "You got me wet!" He tackled Jimmy in the air and they both nearly plummeted to their deaths if Vincent wasn't an Air Sien. They nose-dived back for the water, and Vincent cuffed Jimmy's head lightly. Then, he gripped Jimmy's arm and hoisted him onto his back. They skimmed over the top of the water, creating waves as they sped past it. Then, Vincent executed a sharp rise upwards at a 90 degree angle. Jimmy nearly fell off. He was enjoying himself, he would admit as they landed on the wagon.

The boy was barely conscious and the girl watched him with steely eyes. She looked at the troupe in front of her: Jimmy, Matsuo, Vincent, Shin, Aelia, Glaci, Dipole, David, and Ilizar. Then, she said bluntly, "Are you going to the Water Territory?"

Her voice was stale and dead like autumn leaves. David's head jerked up in surprise, and Ilizar flinched. She glared at them as they moved. They instantly froze, and even David couldn't resist yelping, "She's got a tattoo on her arm!"

No one noticed David jerk uncontrollably. They were all staring at the girl's tattoo that was indeed visible. It was a black star with two cross-bones in the background. Matsuo's eyes widened in disbelief. Then, she shook her head and said quickly, "Get in."

Everyone filed into the wagon, and even the boy was carried inside. David and Ilizar watched the girl and the boy with interest. In the wagon, Jimmy sidled next to Shin, opposite of Vincent and the Guardians. The girl sat in the middle, and the other boy leaned against the wall near Matsuo.

"Explain," Shin said. Everyone eagerly leaned forward, expectant. "What are you doing in the middle of the bridge in the water with this boy? What's with your fangs? What happened?"

"I can't tell you," the girl said smugly, her face smiling. A fang peeked through her lips. "But I can tell you some things. But be more specific and one question at a time. I'm only accepting your ride – not your journey. I'm on my own."

Everyone nodded wearily. That would contradict the prophecy if they stayed.

"All right," Matsuo said, twisting her head around. She turned herself around comfortably, and kept one of her boots close to David's head in case. "What are your names?"

"My name is Ayaise," the girl said. She pointed to the boy slumped against the wall behind Jimmy. "His name is Pan."

Jimmy instantly felt guilty. Hadn't Pan been injured? He bent down and glimpsed at Pan's wound on the arm. It was very deep, and had nicked a nerve. The muscle was torn in several places, too. Jimmy placed his hands over Pan's arm, and let his chi flow cautiously. Pan sighed as the skin sewed itself up.

"Thanks," Pan murmured. He gazed at Jimmy sadly.

"No problem," Jimmy replied earnestly. He was proud of himself – he knew how to heal now! He wasn't sure how he had done it, though – was that how it was supposed to work? "My name is Jimmy. You're Pan, right?"

Pan smiled. He appeared cool and collected – almost like a con-man. "Yep. I'm sorry that we have to bother you. Ayaise and I just agreed that we'd go on an adventure together. We're… going to stop something."

Jimmy patted Pan's shoulder when he recognized his pained face. "I'm sorry," Jimmy whispered. "I won't ask about it. So you're Dark Siens?"

"Yeah," Pan said, licking his teeth. Jimmy noticed again that this boy had fangs. One of them was chipped. "But we're sort of…umm…blood-drinkers."

"Oh," Jimmy said, slowly, his happiness dropping. Then, it rose again. He grabbed Pan's hand, to Pan's shock, and added, "But don't let that make you feel uncomfortable. I know how it feels to be judged. I'm…I'm a Lexard."

They stared at each other for a second.

Then, Shin broke the silence. "That's Jimmy," he said, gesturing toward Jimmy. "He's an Earth Sien. But now he's a Lexard. It gets a little complicated."

Ayaise nodded, and she turned to Matsuo.

Jimmy inspected the wound this time. It was gone, and all that was left was a pink scar. Both boys smiled triumphantly.

"Would you like to sleep?" Jimmy asked, thinking that Pan might be tired.

Instead, Pan yawned and shook his head. "No. I don't – ah – want to do anything I'll regret. I'll stay awake."

Jimmy nodded, and moved back to his seat next to Shin. He badly wanted to know what Pan might regret, but he didn't want to press the boy. He was tired and had been injured. Besides, Ayaise was telling a story of some kind:

"…looking for an Avatar to stop something we're running away from," Ayaise answered, looking at the ground with a pained expression. "I promised to get someone out and Pan got his powers drained…"

It all came crashing down onto Jimmy. The horrors he had just heard – this was a survivor? These two were survivors?

"You're from Emmett's Jail!" screamed Jimmy with shock.

Ayaise flinched as if she'd been slapped. "Yes."

Jimmy faltered, and he said brokenly, "I mean…I … I'm sorry…I didn't…"

Ayaise shook her head, and appeared to grit her teeth. Then she replied, "Its fine. Yes, we escaped. But Pan…they took his powers. I am lucky."

Then, Shin said with realization beside Jimmy, "Wait – but didn't Pan use a bubble to save Jimmy from hitting the water?"

Ayaise set her jaw and said, "That is a complication."

They glared at each other for a little bit. Finally, Shin dropped the subject. "Fine."

Ayaise leaned back, content. Then, she announced, "I'm more interested in your journey. What are you doing, going to the Water Territory? And who – may I ask – who are those two boys?"

"David Bamako and Ilizar Zumi," answered Matsuo with a wave of her hand. "They're bandits who tried to steal something from us. We're selling them to Gyung Yun's, the Working Men's."

Ayaise stiffened, and she murmured, "Very well."

She stood up and walked next to Pan. She held his hand and she watched them all silently.

Jimmy found this behavior odd but decided not to question it. Maybe they were a brother and sister team? They didn't share any resemblances but the teeth…perhaps they were, though.

"We'll be reaching the gates within two minutes," Matsuo reported from up front.

Jimmy turned to look at Shin and Vincent. They seemed far away – hazy, almost… something was distracting him. What was it?

His shirt was moving.

He ripped the bloody scroll out from the chakra spot from his heart and it writhed in his hand like an animal. Ayaise and Pan's heads jerked up hungrily as they smelled Jimmy's blood.

Everyone stiffened as Jimmy opened the scroll. The picture had been replaced by that of the blue-haired girl with bows. She was lying on her back on a mat, staring at a wall. She clutched a piece of paper to her chest and she was curled up on her side.

The paper struggled to worm out of Jimmy's grasp. Surprised, he let it go. It shot in front of Ayaise's face, finally landing on her lap. She sniffed it delicately, and then her face contorted horribly. She choked and began to cough, and then Pan was patting her back nervously. Matsuo turned to look at Ayaise anxiously. "What's wrong?" Jimmy asked, bending over the girl.

"It's…it's Methyl!"

Methyl, Jimmy repeated to himself. He had heard that name from Vincent before.

Jimmy was flattened by this fact. "Shin doesn't like me. He hates me."

"Even if that's true, he needs you," Vincent said, smirking a bit. "Just as much as he needs Matsuo Ayumi and Methyl."

"Met- who?"

Vincent's eyes grew wide. He turned away hastily and said, "No one."

"I heard you say "may-thel"," Jimmy retorted accusatorily. "Who is he?"

"Methyl is a girl," Vincent growled. His pupils enlarged as he thought about something. He had to shake his head several times to wipe away the spell that was about to erase his memories. Cursing, Vincent turned to Jimmy. "Shoot. I changed the prophecy a bit by telling you about Methyl. Well, if hell's going to freeze over, might as well tell you about Matsuo. She'll be joining you real soon and Methyl too, okay?"

"How do you know about Methyl?" asked Vincent, drawing closer. He too recognized the name.

"Methyl…oh…" Ayaise dabbed her eyes with her sleeve. She said warily, "You know her, too?"

"She is part of our prophecy," explained Shin impatiently. He ignored Jimmy's shocked expression and added, "Vincent talks in his sleep."

"Aww, man!" Vincent groaned, flying backwards a bit in despair. "I must've inherited it from your snoring, Shin!"

"I don't snore, Vincent –"

But Jimmy was concentrating on Ayaise's words. "She's in Emmett's Jail for Evil. I couldn't take her with me…I left her a note, telling her I'd find an Avatar to bust her out…oh…"

Jimmy groaned. "Emmett's Jail for Evil?" he repeated. "Has anyone ever 'busted' someone out before?"

Ayaise shook her head furiously. "No! No! Nothing like that! Otherwise I wouldn't be here right now! No, no one has ever escaped Emmett's Jail that I know of except me and Pan."

Suddenly the wagon halted to a stop. Jimmy could see the icy gates looming up ahead. They were so close.

Then Matsuo turned around. She took a deep breath. "We're breaking into the toughest jail in the world, aren't we?"


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Jimmy nodded slowly. Matsuo closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose with her forefinger and thumb. She took deep slow breaths, and said cautiously, "No one has ever done that before. Not even an Avatar, it is said, could break into Emmett's."

"But we could!" Vincent piped up. Everyone turned to stare at him. "Think about it! We have Matsuo, the Three-Killer Hybrid! We have Moir – (what more could you ask for?) – with my awesome powers. We have Shin, my All-Powerful Fire Rival! Then there's Jimmy, who nearly kicked my -- err, butt, with those random Mirage Orb powers! Aelia could use her sound waves to deafen about seventy thousand people, Dipole is good for getting into small places, Glaci…Glaci could wipe out the universe with its wisdom…And, I hate to say it, but David and Ilizar could help too. David could use his Telekinetic Powers to help us move the bars and Ilizar has a lot of raw muscle – and now we even have Ayaise and Pan. Ayaise and Pan will know how to get around the jail, and they're what, Dark Siens? We've basically just covered every element! All we need to do is bust out this Methyl and we come back here."

Everyone listened in silence to Vincent's odd logic. "That could work," Shin relented.

"What about Morita and Notte?" Matsuo asked, excitedly. Her face was alit with ideas. "We could invite them! And Michiyo, the Earth Clan leader! Oh, and we should get Haze and –"

"Hold on!" Ayaise shouted above the din. Everyone quieted, and stared at the girl, whose red eyes darted back and forth among them. "Think about the situation for a second. Even if Notte and Michiyo and Morita are your closest allies, they're still powerful leaders, aren't they? They would stop us – Emmett's is an official building. We can't just let everyone know. No – it just has to be the people presently here."

Ayaise's logic sunk in deeper than Vincent's. Finally, Matsuo pursed her lips and slapped David and Ilizar's arms. Their tattoos disappeared and the two siens shrieked out of dismay. Blaring red marks were left in the tattoo's place.

"I'm going to miss the silence," Matsuo muttered.

"Oh, finally!" David yelled, standing up and waving his arms around. "We're free! Ilizar!"

"David…" Pan croaked, standing up. He lurched a bit to the left by accident, and then had to steady himself. He waddled up to David awkwardly, and tapped David's red mark. "Looks like you've been Bound, good and proper. That means you can't stay away from Matsuo for more than 100 feet or you'll instantly die."

David's cheerful face sank into a deep depression. He sank to the floor with his mood, and said, "I don't know whether this is better or worse."

"Better, if you'd ask me," Glaci spoke up. Its voice was like crystal bells ringing quietly in the air. "Judging by the circumstances, you won't be going to the Working Men's Organization at this rate. Once you do this deed, you're free to go. Your services will have been done."

David's eyes widened in shock. Ilizar stood up and stretched his long limbs. "What're you doing, Ilizar? Siding with the enemy?"

"The way I see it," Ilizar said philosophically, "Is that they're not technically our enemies. They're our allies right now. Sure, we're being forced into a war, but we get a benefit in the end. Just go along with it, Master David. It'll turn out fine."

David sat there, numb and contemplating. Finally, he scowled and hissed, "All right! We'll help you bust this "metal" person out!"

Ayaise slapped David hard across the cheek. He went flying into the wagon canvas, with a newly chipped tooth and a split lip. "Her name is Methyl," Ayaise growled menacingly. She bared her fangs – David and the others had never seen vampiric fangs before. They shied away from her instinctually.

Ayaise turned to Pan and nodded once. Then they turned to Matsuo. "Turn this wagon around."

After Matsuo had left the wagon back at her cloud tower, Ayaise and Pan began to lay out the plan for them.

"Obviously, no one is expecting us to come back," Ayaise said, smiling wanly at her audience. They were circled around her at the bridge to the Dark Territory. It went from clouds to eerie blackness, like walking down into an abyss. "But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't be careful. We're considered runaways right now – Pan and I. So just stay away from lighted areas – if they get a good look at any of you they may throw you into Emmett's."

"Say what?" David snapped a note of hysteria in his voice. "Why would they do that?"

Pan cocked an eyebrow. Jimmy noticed that he had an ever-changing personality. "Some of our characteristics. For example, look at your Ilizar – he is huge and intimidating. They would jump at the chance to jail him."

Everyone turned to look at Ilizar as if he was an extinct species. He let out a growl of outrage and waved his arms around. "Yeah, yeah, I'm the huge scary monster! Now cut it out!"

Ayaise cleared her throat, and everyone stopped staring at Ilizar.

"Once we enter the Dark Territory, then we have a set time limit," Ayaise continued. She pointed to the black tattoo on her arm. "It drains our powers once we're in the Dark Territory. Pan lost his powers and thus he lost his tattoo. But Pan will turn into a bit of a stranger due to the loss of his powers – so don't feel freaked out if he acts strangely."

Everyone looked sympathetically towards Pan. Jimmy's heart was beating wildly. What if they got tagged? Would they turn into "strangers" like Pan?

Carefully, Ayaise walked up to David. She reached into her pocket, drawing out a lump. David stared at it curiously as she dabbed the black soot onto his red tattoo. "Since you already have one," Ayaise explained, "We might as well pretend that we're escorting you in. I've seen it happen before."

David swallowed and asked quickly, "Err, what's this stuff?"

"This is some of the strongest black ink that Alkali has ever made," Ayaise said, wiping the substance off her fingers. David flinched as he felt the black seep into his skin. "It's made of Wusyl spit, Puyki dung, a demon's crushed eyes, and the claw of a Water-Duck; feisty creatures, you know – hey, what's wrong?"

David was gripping the black as if he were trying to rip his own skin off. "It's burning!" he yelled, scratching the black ink uselessly. Jimmy looked on horrified as the black spread around his arm, making a perfect replica of Ayaise's tattoo. "Ilizar! Help me get this off!"

"It won't come off unless you wipe it with Tomehio saliva," Ayaise said, pointing to Glaci. "I sort of doubt that Matsuo's Guardian is going to spare you that much. Don't worry – it's only aligning your cells in order and sucking out some of your blood cells. It doesn't hurt much after that…maybe a sharp sting here and there, but…"

Ayaise moved onto Ilizar, who bravely held out his arm. Ayaise coated his arm with the black substance, and finally watched as Ilizar's red tattoo turned ominous-black. Satisfied, she turned towards the Dark Territory.

"We must warn you," Pan added, drawing everyone's attention. "Most of our kind is made up of demons, vampires, and other siens outcast by you folks. We – sort of hate many of you. Strike that – all of you. So we're also going to need to disguise you properly."

Shin groaned. "We're going to be wearing the black stuff on our arms?"

"No, you'll help bring them in," Ayaise interrupted. She put the black box away and drew out a black tote bag instead from the air. "We're going to make you as Light-sien-like as possible. They're the least Argosy would expect – Light fairies and pixies and people running around smiling and laughing and burning all of us with their damned touch…"

Jimmy had a feeling that they were being a little biased with this.

Pan helped Jimmy dress into a Light-sien's costume: a golden lace around his neck, a sunshine-yellow robe that reached his ankles, small white fluffy wings attached to his back, and – the worst part – glowing skin. Pan had to scrub Jimmy down four times with the shadows to get all of Jimmy's grit and salt-water off. Finally, Jimmy looked like the best Light sien out of everyone else, next to Matsuo.

Matsuo tied up her hair into a bun and beamed at Jimmy when he came out from the cloud tower with Pan. She wore a golden halter top and an orange skirt that reminded Jimmy of dusk. Shin was milling about with a gold choker around his neck and heavy gold-armor; Vincent was struggling to fly with his on. David and Ilizar were dressed humbly in rags, with oil greases here or there. Ayaise had transformed herself into an Air Sien; she had somehow made her gray hair paler and she wore pale white clothing. Her red eyes had not changed, nor her fangs, but it was still a stunning change. It was like looking at Notte, except that Ayaise had a graver, older face and Ayaise wasn't wearing a red hoodie jacket.

Pan decided to be a Fire Sien; he adapted Shin's clothing. Shin just continued to grumble and ask why he was dressed as a Light Sien if Pan got to be in his clothing.

"As we said before," Pan said sternly, but still wearing Shin's clothing, "You would be taken in immediately with your strange hair. For a Light sien, though, they wouldn't give you a second look. Me, on the other hand, and Ayaise have to escort David and Ilizar – we need them to take us because we know our way around the jail. Then with your help we can get Methyl out."

"But this is so heavy," Vincent groaned. "How are we going to fight in this stuff?"

"It's meant for a taller warrior," Ayaise said apologetically. "Sorry, Vincent. Try what you can, or stick with someone else when fighting. Oh, and just telling you – don't talk in anything except … well, anything that will sound like Light to them. What do you guys speak in that you all have in common?"

Shin gestured towards Aelia. "Aelia can tap into our voices and alter it for our ears only after she gets used to our brain frequency."

Ayaise bowed to Aelia. "That is invaluable."

She turned to look at everyone, and asked loudly, "Are we all ready?"

"Yes," they chorused, each with different tones. Shin's was that of indifference, almost boredom, and yet held annoyance against Vincent. Vincent's was cheery and confident. Pan's was a little nervous but still stubborn. Matsuo's was friendly and expectant. Aelia's was grim for the work she'd have to go through. Jimmy's was the hardest to hear, his barely a whisper. Dipole's was more of a choke. Glaci was confident and unafraid. David and Ilizar mumbled theirs, as if playing the part of evil doers already.

Ayaise nodded and turned for the bridge. They walked on the clouds, feeling their feet slip through about an inch of white before it held their combined weight. Dipole and Jimmy hung in the middle, peering over the sides nervously.

Jimmy could never get used to this – he wondered why anyone even bothered to make any roads. Why couldn't they just make boats? But then again, that would be hard to get rid of and hide if mortals came near. Jimmy shuddered. He wondered what happened to mortals who reached Alkali. He turned to Shin, who was trooping in front of him.

"Hey, Shin?" Jimmy whispered, speeding up a bit to catch up with Shin's steady pace. Jimmy had never realized how great their height difference was until now. "What happens when mortals find Alkali?"

Shin turned around to face Jimmy. As Jimmy looked into Shin's eyes, he saw something new in them. Was it grim determination or grief? Jimmy wasn't sure. But Shin seemed more distant since they were in the tunnels. What had happened to Shin? Just as he was accepting Jimmy, too…

"Mortals who stray here are instantly turned into siens," Shin answered, his tone the opposite of his appearance. His hair had turned a deep sapphire and his eyes were a soft gray. He looked melancholy, trooping along the white bridge into the darkness. "They blend into society, trying to grasp onto our culture. Once we figure out what they are, we expose them, and if they cannot adapt correctly, we kill them. We figure that if a mortal reaches our powers and cannot handle it, they'll only be in the way for wars and they may lead mortals here."

"Oh," Jimmy said, sliding back into his position on line. There were conversations beginning to float around the line other than Jimmy and Shin's; Vincent was talking to Pan, David was whispering to Ilizar, and Matsuo was talking to Ayaise. Jimmy eavesdropped on both of them consecutively, starting with Vincent, who was behind Jimmy:

"…vampires need blood here, too?" Vincent was asking.

"Well, in a way," Pan admitted, focusing on the ground. "But not in the way Dracula is written. We're not bloodthirsty, it just strengthens us. But we can eat and drink real food, if that's what you mean. Blood is just a power-up, basically. Oh, and the whole "sunlight" bullshit –?" – Jimmy flinched – "It doesn't happen. Only Light sien spells do the most damage. Sunlight is nothing on our skin."

Vincent laughed. "So if you're a vampire, where did your Dark powers go?"

"It's within EJE," replied Pan calmly. "They store it in this huge container. We're going to have to go there to get Methyl's powers back as well. I think I know where it is – in the Restricted Section, where not even the security guards are allowed. Only Warden Argosy. They put our powers in there and use it to boost their own powers to keep us in check."

Jimmy shuddered. He moved away from Vincent and Pan, who moved on to discuss what type of Guardians would come in handy for the break-in. Jimmy casually moved in front of Shin (who didn't even blink twice) and listened to Matsuo and Ayaise's similar conversation.

"…security?" Matsuo queried.

"Nope," Ayaise replied, waving her hand towards the large black gate looming up in front of them. Jimmy felt something press down on his entire body; almost like a weight shifting onto his back. What was this feeling? "See, there's a protective spell around the Dark Territory that keeps out honest people. If we're getting through, then that means that we're liars, thieves, crooks, and basically all-together bad people. Now, it doesn't affect Light siens, so you'll be fine."

As if to prove her point, Ayaise gestured towards David and Ilizar, who were trudging in-between them, silently but holding their heads high. Jimmy was almost envious of them; they were the only ones not slouching nor groaning in discomfort. "They should be the least affected. This will definitely help us put them "in" and then we'll be taken in. Just follow our signal, okay?"

"We've gone through the plan several times," Matsuo said impatiently. But then her carefree tone returned. "First you and Pan get taken in for custody along with David and Ilizar. Aelia and the Light siens, us, start to ask the security guards if we can look around at the "miscreants." We find Methyl's cell, and create a diversion, alerting her of the plan. Then, in the meanwhile, you, Pan, David, and Ilizar will break the Power-Keeper in the jail, thus releasing everyone's powers. Then the criminals will break free and during the confusion we wreak more havoc, mainly pointed at Argosy. Finally, we all flee."

Ayaise smiled. "Thank god you remembered. I was a little worried that you, the Leader of the Second Group, might forget. I'm sure Vincent and Shin will be able to create a diversion without even meaning to?"

"That's a 55 chance," Matsuo chuckled. "All it takes is Vincent to say, "The floor is gray" and they'll start arguing about what color it is. I'm sure it won't be hard to even coax them to fight – Shin looks like he would gladly take on Vincent."

"I agree!" Shin and Vincent chorused from behind Jimmy. Jimmy jumped a little at the sudden noise.

Matsuo and Ayaise laughed, and began to delve into the subject of fighting moves. Next Jimmy moved onto listening to David and Ilizar's conversation.

"So we're finally going into EJE," David said with a sigh. He rubbed his arm where the tattoo was gingerly. "I suppose that when we get out, we'll become the only bandits other than this Methyl person to have escaped from it and planned the whole routine. What do you say, Ilizar?"

"I agree," Ilizar said, but his mind was somewhere else.

Jimmy decided that if he was an Earth Sien in the very least he might as well try something. He had never tapped into someone's mind before, but he had seen Notte and Morita do it plenty of times. Reading minds. It was a strong infiltration of trust and usually held information that would destroy any friendship. But Jimmy wasn't at all bent on becoming Ilizar's friend, and he was curious.

Jimmy focused on Ilizar's head. He tried to glare through Ilizar's hair and realized that it wasn't working. Why? Maybe he wasn't focusing hard enough? That was doubtful; Morita and Notte hardly exerted any energy. Maybe he was looking in the wrong spot.

Ah! Jimmy thought excitedly. Wait! Earth Siens' strongest points are our chests! Maybe I should be looking for a signal from the chakra release THERE!

Jimmy stared into Ilizar's back and tried to worm his mind into Ilizar's. It worked, and Jimmy knew it as soon as he felt light-headed. The odd connection suddenly snapped into Jimmy like an electric jolt of adrenaline goes through a terrified person. Jimmy was hearing loud thoughts in his head and he couldn't think clearly. He could see that he was walking, and he could hear what he was thinking, but he could also visualize what Ilizar was staring at, and he could hear Ilizar screaming in his head:

Bloodthirsty murderers wait in EJE. I must protect Master David from all harm. Master David will no doubt try and pick a fight with one of the criminals on the way out. I must make sure that he does not get harmed. I will kill all those that stand in my way – even all of these people around me, those who are building my new ego.

Jimmy shuddered and tried to break the connection by looking away. But the voice continued: That Jimmy boy. He has the most power, it is told – perhaps I should reach into his heart as David had done, and take his Mirage Orb?

Jimmy, panicked, began to pinch himself. What was he to do?

Killing him will be like snapping a toothpick.

Jimmy nervously went behind Shin again, hoping to break the connection through another body.

I'll donate his blood to the vampires and maybe they'll help me one day.

Jimmy's knuckles were white as he wrung his shirt. Dipole clung to him nervously, perched on his shoulder, whispering words that Jimmy could no longer hear, drowned out by Ilizar:

Or maybe I should just make it seem like an accident in the jail. I accidentally kill him. Yes – a challenge. Then I can brag more with Master David on our escape.

Jimmy bit his tongue until he felt it bleed in his mouth.

Then once he dies, I will kill all of them. Then only Methyl, Master David, and I shall know the secrets of the Mirage Orb.

Jimmy froze. This time, he felt Ilizar's voice fade away. Jimmy felt cold and numb. The pressing sensation on his back was stronger, and they were barely a foot away from the gate. What did Ilizar know about the Mirage Orb? How would he know that Methyl knew its secrets?

Who was Methyl?

Then, Jimmy came to a halt. His body instinctively reacted to the large, black gate that rose up in front of them, with black twisting roses as the metal design. Pan strode forward, wearing Shin's clothing, and aggressively kicked the gates. They swung wide open with a loud bang and three black clouds hurried to meet them. Pan paled considerably, and Jimmy felt the hairs on his neck rise a bit.

They were security guards from EJE; even Jimmy could tell that. It was three men, all bulky and well-armed, their arm-bands flashing off white replicas of what was on David and Ilizar's arms.

"Business?" one barked, eying Ayaise and Pan curiously. "What is the meaning of these riffraff?"

"I am Commander Ayumi, of the Light Siens," Matsuo said, striding forward. She beamed her perfect smile at the guards and they stared at her. Pale flecks of light danced off her skin. Matsuo was a good actress. "I see that you have come to greet us. These are my ambassadors from the Light Territory; Generals Vincent and Shin, and this is Private Jimmy. We all bring Guardians of various regions with us and we bring forth two bandits by the names of David Bamako and Ilizar Zumi. They are wanted criminals."

"And the Air and Fire Siens?" queried another guard, looking warily at Pan. "How did you open our gates?"

Matsuo smiled, a deadly one but still generous in some way. "Surely you know that I can simply touch your bodies and you will crumble away to nothing but ashes? We do not mean to linger, only to investigate your jail. White Haze sends us as a direct order. Do you wish to disobey a direct order?"

"No!" they chorused, military style. Then they gripped David and Ilizar by the armpits and hoisted them in front of them. The guards prodded the bandits until they painfully began to move forward. As soon as Jimmy stepped foot on Dark Territory soil, the pressure on him lifted. It wasn't completely gone, but at least he wasn't doubled-over in pain.

Ayaise looked back at the troupe and winked at them, reassuring them to stay calm. Cautiously, Jimmy dared to look around. It was just like a graveyard in some ways; the streets were empty and the entire Territory was coated in darkness. There was an odd full moon above their heads, even though Jimmy swore it was only sunrise when they left. The houses that they passed were falling apart and were like empty shells of what they had been. Trees were twisted in painful forms and grimaced at them as they passed. Jimmy's fingers strayed to Dipole. They held each other's hand tightly.

Finally, they reached a huge, rectangular shaped building. It had no windows and no clear opening. It was gray, depressing, and the largest building Jimmy had ever seen. One of the guards tapped the bricks in the wall in a certain order and the doorway appeared. Everyone walked inside slowly, as if admiring the jail. Jimmy didn't need to read anyone's mind; they were all thinking the same thing. We're in.

Inside was a large empty floor with nothing except a single bed and raised platform. Circled around this empty floor were rows and rows of jail cells. On the first floor were doors labeled Restricted, Cafeteria, and Warden. A huge man sat in the middle, his arms crossed and his face screwed up in a furious sneer.

He was large, with a rotund belly sticking out of his plaid shirt. He was bald with a small fluffy crown of light brown around his head. He had thick eyebrows and serious blue eyes. Jimmy surmised this was Warden Argosy. He had large meaty hands and a small moustache under his large nose.

"What is the meaning of this?!" he shouted, shaking the foundation of the jail. Jimmy nearly hit the floor trembling. But then he remembered that he had no reason to fear this man. That didn't stop Dipole from hitting the ground, however. "I don't recall inviting sissies over here!"

"Sir!" one of the guards said, standing at attention. He placed his hand over his helmet in a quick salute and then continued, "They are representatives from the Light Territory, SIR! They would like to turn in two notorious bandits named David Bamako and Ilizar Zumi, SIR! They would also like to tour Emmett's Jail for Evil, SIR! Is this is all doable, SIR?"

Argosy rose fluidly like a bird from his chair and darted over to Matsuo. "I am supposing you are the Commander?"

Matsuo bravely put on a smile. "Yes, sir. I am Commander Ayumi."

"Sending war generals into enemy territory. Hmph. You pixies can't do a blasted thing here without your sunlight, so fine. Take the bandits and those two other siens into custody. I don't trust the look in that Air Sien's eye."

Ayaise stiffened and Pan looked mortified. Matsuo glanced worriedly at them. "Warden Argosy, do you really think that such an action is necessary? They helped us find the bandits."

"It's just a precaution, Miss Ayumi," replied Argosy, standing up. He gestured towards the room labeled Warden. "We'll keep them under surveillance and make sure that they're not top-notch criminals themselves. You may look around the jail, but if you get injured or cause any fights I will have to report to White Haze. Do you understand?"

Matsuo saluted calmly to Argosy, who stalked away with Ayaise, Pan, David, and Ilizar. Jimmy nervously surveyed the millions of cells. How would they know which one was Methyl? Yes, they had all memorized her picture, but what if she looked different? What if they cut her hair or something?

As soon as they were alone, Matsuo walked boldly up to Argosy's chair. A few criminals took notice and began to spit at her feet. She hissed, and the entire room fell silent. A glob of spit sailed through the air. Matsuo turned around, and made a circular motion around her body – the spit followed her hands. Then, she lifted her arms suddenly.

The slabs of earth they were standing on rose with a crack and the criminals watching gaped. Matsuo pounded the earth with her feet and they rose, level by level with this pounding.

At each floor, the criminals begged to be let free, but none resembled Methyl at all. Jimmy couldn't help but pity some of them. Most were just lonely or lost-looking children who probably made one mistake in their life.

After about twenty floors of pounding, Vincent cried out, "Hey! Isn't this the girl?"

Everyone turned excitedly to see what Vincent was pointing at. It wasn't Methyl.

It was the Guardian that Vincent had been riding on. She had her hair cropped short, and her clothing was very dirty. She looked thinner than the blood-picture, but there was no mistaking her. Vincent jumped off Matsuo's earth platform and landed in front of her bars. He shook the lead, and shouted, "Hey! My name's Vincent!"

The Guardian's head snapped up. She gazed blankly at him, shaking the bars of her cell. Dully, she said, "I've tried to break it. It's impossible –"

"The hell with impossible!" Vincent roared, and he sliced the bars in half. They fell down the several flights with an audible clank and Vincent leaped into the Guardian's cell. Jimmy could tell that she was weak as Vincent easily carried her.

"What are you doing?" Shin hissed angrily. "We're supposed to look for Methyl and then cause a diversion! We can't take that Guardian along!"

The Guardian grabbed Vincent's shirt, and began to cry into it. "Don't leave me here! Please!"

Matsuo took command. "She's part of the prophecy, I think," she said, and added, "Plus, if Vincent wants to bring her along, then she's his responsibility. There's no shame in rescuing an innocent Guardian, is there?"

The Guardian nodded quickly, and sat on the earth platform beside Vincent. She was just a bit taller than he was. Jimmy couldn't help but see the small connection between them. He had seen it before when he and Dipole bonded. So Vincent had gotten himself a Guardian.

They rose another flight, unsuccessfully looking for Methyl still.

"Do you have a name?" Vincent asked, turning to the Guardian.

She was huddled in a fetal position. She jumped a bit and then whispered, "I don't remember."

Vincent's eyes hardened. "Oh. Do you mind if I called you something? I can't just call you Guardian."

Her face lit up. "Of course! Anything is fine."

"I'll call you Fazio," Vincent said with a flourish. He grinned and pat Fazio's head like a puppy. "I'm sure Ayaise will be furious and call this a complication to the plans, but let me tell you some things…you see, we're looking for this girl. Her name is Methyl –"

"Methyl Zezima?" Fazio asked, blinking innocently. Matsuo stopped their ascent, mid-step. Everyone stared at the Guardian.

"You know Methyl?" asked Shin, pushing his way past Jimmy to get to Fazio. His eyes were blazing and fire was leaking out of his hands. "Where is she?"

"Methyl is famous," Fazio continued, seeing right through Shin. She had glassy eyes as if she was thinking very hard. "We are all here because of our talents. Argosy – he took away my Flight; he can't do that, can he? Methyl – she fought, she really did, and her cell mate escaped…so they moved her to the top floor."

Fazio's babble was cut off as Matsuo made the platform surge for the top of the jail. Jimmy clung tightly to Shin's arm, who was shaking a bit from the speed. Dipole was trying hard not to puke – he was greener than he should've been.

Finally, they came to a lurching stop on the top of the jail. It was hard to see, as all of the lights were at the bottom of the jail. There was only one cell. In it sat one girl, with stringy blue hair and her back was turned towards them. At the sound of Fazio's cry of dismay, she turned.

"Water sien!" she exclaimed immediately. With surprising force, she rammed into the cell-bars and reached out to touch Matsuo. "I never thought I'd see another sien again! This is my second day of starvation! Who – who are you people? Why are you dressed as Light siens?"

"Shh," Shin whispered urgently. "The other criminals can't know that. How can you tell?"

Methyl smiled triumphantly. A confident look came into her eye. "Ayaise was right. She got help to get us out, didn't she? I've been expecting weird things. You must be the Avatar, Water Sien. I mean, you're standing on a rock and you're obviously from the Water Territory…"

"Actually, I'm a Three-Hybrid," Matsuo said with a smile. She walked casually over to Methyl's cage and blew onto the bars. They instantly turned to ice, and then, she turned around, pushing her platform into the iced area. The bars sprang apart with a loud whoosh.

"Cool," Methyl said, grinning. As she stepped out of the cell, Jimmy quickly took a look at her injuries. She had whip-marks on her arms, and there was a black bruise on the side of her cheek. Jimmy frowned. He didn't remember seeing that on Ayaise. What had happened to this girl? She caught Jimmy's eye and said apologetically, "I tried to kill myself. Anything than being trapped in here. Unfortunately, my will is stronger than I thought."

Jimmy gaped at her as she sidled onto his platform. "How did you try to kill yourself? Why… why would you do that?"

"I know too much," Methyl whispered. "They would've pried it from me eventually. But I can't let them get it – the Item that can create and empower life, the Item that can do anything but only in the right hands. And Argosy is definitely not the "right" hands I intended it to be used by. I tried so hard to kill myself using my sweat to cut myself, and using the mist in the air to try and stab my heart…but I have terrible courage and I just could only injure myself."

"The…Item?" Jimmy repeated.

"Yes," Methyl said, and she looked at Jimmy with hope. "But that is something that I must look for alone. You don't need to bother with it. Is Ayaise here too? Wait, of course she is, she would never sit this type of thing out. Don't tell me she dressed up as one of you?"

"Ayaise and this boy named Pan," Shin clarified. "We're pleased to meet you. My name is Shin Asuka, and this is my Guardian, Aelia."

Aelia waggled her ears daintily at Methyl.

"I'm Vincent, and this is my friend, Fazio," Vincent said, pointing to himself and the Guardian. "Matsuo is the Hybrid, and the boy you're next to is Jimmy. He's a new sien."

"And in more trouble than most encounter in their lives," Shin muttered.

Methyl focused on Shin, and her eyes widened. "You!" she gasped as the rock platforms began to descend, "You have the traits of my Item! You found the Mirage Orb?"

Shin looked equally startled. "Your Item? You're the Creator of the Mirage Orb?"

"Yes!" Methyl said, her eyes sparkling. "I can't believe it! It attached itself to you! That must be so nice! Who would've guessed it! Well, you can use its powers right? I was wondering if it would work even if its in a proper Chamber, but…"

Shin reached into his pocket and drew out the Orb. Methyl's eyes turned a ghastly black. "Wait a second. You have it with you? It's not in a Chamber?"

"Unfortunately, no," Shin said firmly. He stared at Jimmy. "Originally I found it in the Earth Territory Chamber. As we were going to the Water Territory Chamber, we found Ayaise, and it seems that you are part of the Orb's prophecy."

Methyl scratched her head. "Prophecy? I can't be part of a prophecy! I'm just not – well, I'm not exactly the hero type of person…"

Ditto, thought Jimmy.

"Nevertheless, if you are the creator of the Mirage Orb," Matsuo piped up, her back turned to Methyl, "Then you are definitely part of the prophecy. We don't know where the Water Chamber is, so…would you mind… showing us…?"

Methyl bit her bottom lip as she thought. "I don't know…if the Mirage Orb is with you, then there's a chance that Alkali might explode…I mean, I created it to keep a balance between Light siens and Dark siens, and if its not stabilized, there will be no defined line between the two – good and evil – so … I suppose if its for the welfare of Alkali, I should."

"Good," Shin said, smiling slightly. He breathed a sigh of relief and gestured towards Jimmy. "Then there are some things you need to know. For now, Jimmy will take care of you until we're out of the Dark Territory. After that, we'll tell you everything that's been going on. I want to make sure that the Mirage Orb isn't…affected by alien substances or something."

Jimmy shuddered. What if Alkali exploded because it was in him now? He wondered if the Mirage Orb in Shin's pocket would explode – or maybe he?

They stopped on the bottom floor. Methyl staggered on the cold floor, and she drew her arms around her knees in a fetal position. "My powers…" she murmured, closing her eyes. "I wish I had my powers right now."

"Me too," Fazio whimpered.

A thunderous sound crackled through the air. Methyl jumped up in surprise. Everyone tensed as the door labeled Restricted shuddered and shook. Dents appeared from the outside.

Then, Methyl and Fazio fell to the ground, screaming. All of the criminals were screaming – those who weren't were yelling in surprise and from the noise. All the criminals were gripping their black tattoos, which writhed angrily on their skin. Jimmy bent down to help Methyl when he realized that her screams and all of the others were fading away. The tattoo, he saw, was becoming a faint dark mark, that at the rate it was dissolving at, it would probably be but a distant memory.

The door creaked open. Ayaise staggered out, blood over her face and her white Air Sien robes were splattered in a dark liquid. Pan followed after her, looking much different from the Pan Jimmy knew. This Pan looked suave and cool, with indifferent eyes and a flirty smile. The only dead give-away that it was Pan under all of the blood on Shin's clothing was the hairstyle. Argosy's moans came from behind the door.

They all ran up to support Ayaise and Pan. Pan shirked away from assistance, but Jimmy caught a glimpse of a huge gushing wound on his chest. What had happened?

Ayaise lay down on the ground, panting heavily. "What happened?" Fazio asked quietly, gazing at Ayaise in horror. To everyone's amazement, Fazio's back had sprouted fluffy white wings. "Are you okay?"

"It…was…the bandits," Ayaise hissed, her eyes staring at some unforeseen person. "They…attacked…Argosy…and Argosy…crashed…into the … power-holder…one survived…the … white boy…ran away…Argosy…still alive…barely hold him off…Pan…Pan, bite him…I'll go for the jugular…no, why is Argosy still alive…?"

Ayaise closed her eyes. Pan swept Ayaise into his arms like a child quickly, and said calmly, "Now is not the time to mourn whether she lives or not. The criminals should be recovering from their power-returning, so we might as well just flee. I see there's been a change in plans…the Air Guardian. Alas, we have no time to make introductions. I will seek the Council of Elders for Ayaise to be healed immediately."

Ayaise's eyes fluttered open when Pan said her name. Her head turned slowly and painfully to face Methyl. Methyl was crying openly, wiping her nose with her sleeve every now and then. "You did it," Methyl sobbed, taking Ayaise's hand. "You promised you would. You didn't need an Avatar after all, did you?"

Ayaise smiled wanly. "No…guess not…be safe…okay? Stay with…these guys…they'll take…care of you…and … they need you."

Pan nodded as Ayaise fell back into a coma. "The blood loss is severe," he said, and delicately moved away from Methyl so that their hands were apart. "We will meet again, I hope."

With that, Pan was swallowed up by the darkness.

Just in time, Matsuo took command again. "We'd better get out of here before the Elders investigate who did this," she said grimly.

Everyone nodded. Matsuo cast a teleportation charm around all of them. "Looks like we didn't need our Guardians," she said with a chuckle. Aelia wrinkled her nose and indignantly looked away. "You'll have your chance."

"Let us help!" Vincent said, and he input a bit of his chakra into the section where he and Fazio were going to be. It was a special spell that even Jimmy recognized – each sien would walk to their element and use that part of the ring to aid them in a massive teleportation. Quickly, Jimmy dragged Methyl to Matsuo. Shin was already standing with Aelia in his proper place. Everyone was waiting for him.

Jimmy was about to gasp.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Jimmy peeked into Methyl's room. It was marginally different from his; hers had blue walls and a vanity pushed against the wall near the door. Methyl was looking much better since Jimmy had last seen her. She wore a clean blue linen frock and a white T-shirt under that. She wore blue slippers and the marks on her skin had faded somewhat.

Methyl's hair was tied up the way it was in the blood-picture. She had two bows on the sides of her head, a pale purple, and her hair was let down. The bows were more like clips, Jimmy noticed.

Methyl's head snapped up when Jimmy peeked in.

"Oh," she said softly when she noticed him. "You're Johnny, right?"

"Jimmy," he corrected, coming in. He closed the door behind him and cautiously watched her face. She appeared calm. "I have a few questions."

"Doesn't everyone?" Methyl laughed, throwing back her head and falling onto her bed with a bounce. "And don't even bothering telling me how the Mirage Orb inside of you is doing. If you're alive and well that means it is too. I'm not as innocent and dumb as you think, James."

"Jimmy," Jimmy repeated. "And I'm sorry if I insulted you in any way."

"Insulted me?" Methyl sat up, and stared at him quizzically. "Now how would you offend me?"

"Well, you seemed upset the other day when you realized I had the Mirage Orb inside of me," Jimmy said sheepishly.

Methyl giggled. "Of course! But I getting all mad about it wouldn't change anything. So what was your question? Vincent says you ask a lot."

Jimmy gulped down the burning shyness in his throat. "It's about the Mirage Orb. On the day that Ilizar died … he's one of the bandits that helped take down Argosy…I read his mind. He said that he, David, and you, Methyl knew the secrets of the Mirage Orb. How is this possible?"

Methyl's eyes darkened and her expression clouded over. "Did you say Ilizar? Ilizar Zumi?"

Jimmy nodded expectantly.

"Ilizar and David Bamako were my assistants at one point," Methyl said, burying her head in her hands. She looked so forlorn and small like a child who had forgotten her toy at the playground. "I know it is wrong, but we took the blood of every element; three drops of air, three drops of water, three drops of fire, three drops of earth, five drops of dark and five drops of light. The Mirage Orb was created in this way – to create a balance for Alkali. The Avatars approved of it and placed it in the Council of Elders' care. But when I was imprisoned, David told me as I was being taken away that he would take it. I don't know what happened after that."

Jimmy's eyebrows furrowed. "They were your assistants?"

"Yes," Methyl said bluntly. She sniffled and raised her head. Her eyes were puffy and angry. "I can't believe this is happening! David – how could he…and what he did to Emily…"

"Emily?" Jimmy prodded. "Who is Emily?"

"Emily is his … relation," Methyl conceded hesitantly. "She is a Light sien. David provided the Light blood with Emily, and she became attached to him, following him wherever he went, but he never knew. Then when he made the Mirage Orb, he did something to offend it, and all of his memories were wiped clean. I remember he could barely remember his own name. Emily took him in, and for one year she was teaching him how to steal. He was just a boy, barely ten. Then Ilizar became indebted to him – and Emily was traumatized. She hated Ilizar for taking David away from her. She tried to kill Ilizar several times. That's when the Mirage Orb began to malfunction. I realized that it needed a stabilizer, and summoned David to help me strengthen it once more. Emily begged him not to go, but he and Ilizar left to assist me. This time when the Mirage Orb was strengthened, we made Chambers for it. David became obsessed with power, and I was forced to make him forget about the ordeal. I tried to erase as much as I could from Ilizar, but he must've remembered some parts…oh, God…"

"What happened to Emily?" asked Jimmy quietly. Dipole's eyes were wide with shock and realization.

"Light siens survive on happiness and goodwill," Methyl whispered, choking a bit on tears. "When David came back, his memory tarnished, she blamed me and tried to kill me. But David remembered Emily and not me, so he thought I was an innocent person. He … he yelled Emily. No one has ever hurt a Light sien emotionally before, they always have good thoughts. Emily was so astonished that such hatred came from David's mouth that it ripped one arm off and she was disabled from that on. She vowed to continue to protect David, but then, when I was gathering ingredients in the Dark Territory for a potion, I was captured because a criminal recognized me for taking his blood. As I was being dragged away…David ran up to me with Ilizar. He told me, "I will protect and steal the Mirage Orb even if my memory is erased completely." Then he vanished. Emily…she must've told him everything…"

Jimmy sat down on the ground, reeling from the turn of events. So David and Ilizar had helped create the Mirage Orb. This Emily… he felt sincerely sorry for her.

He watched Methyl stand up and wipe her tears away. "You know what, I feel a little better," she said, smiling kindly. Jimmy was struck by the sincerity of it. Did all Water siens have such nice smiles? Methyl pulled him to his feet and added, "Do you know how to cook?"

"Dipole is a good chef," Jimmy said, still in shock. "Why?"

"Don't you know anything about a journey?" Methyl laughed. "You need food! Vincent eats so much he might as well be a bottomless pit. Shin rations himself, but you can tell that he wants to compete with Vincent. And Matsuo eats quickly and daintily. Now add up all the food – how much is that?"

Jimmy thought for a second. "Erm, there's Fazio, Vincent, me, Dipole, you, Matsuo, Glaci, Shin, Aelia, and…that's nine beings. So nine bags of food?"

"Bring twenty," Methyl compromised.

"So much?!" Dipole exclaimed.

"Well, if any of your friends like Notte and Morita show up you don't want them hungry do you?" Methyl teased. She left the room, humming an unfamiliar tune.

Jimmy followed her, feeling like he was more of a burden in the kitchen. Methyl was amazing with food. She would use the dew from outside and use it to wash the fruits and dry the meat at the same time. She could cut the meat into small pieces for Dipole and put small pieces of celery inside for Aelia to try. She could flit about the entire kitchen doing all sorts of culinary arts.

"When did you learn how to do this?" Jimmy gasped. He watched as the knife she threw into the air expertly cut a carrot in half. It seemed as soon as it landed she was there, slicing the carrot into smaller pieces. Then she would be slashing at the rice balls, cutting them into triangles.

"When you live alone most of your life you pick up a few things," Methyl said, grinning.

A hand landed on Jimmy's shoulder. He flinched and turned around. It was a tall, skinny man with a bald head and large square glasses. He had a crooked nose and reminded Jimmy a lot of Ilizar. But this man was lighter than Ilizar, but he wasn't pale either. He wore a loose blue legging, showing off his chiseled chest.

"You must be James," the man said. His voice was deep and reassuring. "I'm the landlord of the Bering. My name is Danté – Matsuo Ayumi is a good friend of my daughter, who is a little younger than you. Welcome."

Jimmy nodded numbly, staring at the man's bulk. Then, from his side popped out a strange child. The contrast was stunning.

The girl was probably only eleven, but she was very short for her age. She had gray eyes and curious-looking orange hair that turned blonde in some parts. She had almost see-through skin; Jimmy could make out a lot of her veins. She was so innocent with large eyes and to top it off, she wore a royal blue dress that reached her black shoes.

"Swimmy," she said, reaching out to touch Jimmy. He got down on one knee, and extended his hand to shake the girl's. She shook his index finger with her whole hand. She smiled at him – her teeth had gaps here and there in it. "My name is Swodi."

"Jodi," clarified Danté with a chuckle. "She has lost so many teeth by now that 'j' is 'sw' and't' is 'k'."

"Is nok!" Jodi exclaimed. She glared at her father, who just chuckled. Jodi turned her happy gray eyes back to Jimmy. "I'm a morkal sien."

"Mortal sien, hmm?" Methyl piped up, sprinkling pepper over a sizzling dish. "What universe are you from?"

"Rasa," Jodi said perfectly. "Khak's khe land of khe clouds."

"Yes, the Land of the Clouds is a nice place," Methyl mused. She turned to Jimmy. "I went there once in order to slay a dragon. Have you been there before?"

Jimmy thought about when he had visited Vincent's training grounds. It seemed like years ago. "Yes, I think so. It was… well, it could've been a better experience for me."

"I'll take you sometime," Methyl said matter-of-factually. Jimmy kept his face light and happy but he was sure that Jodi could see the shock on his face. Jodi laughed.

"Swimmy is only my age!" Jodi said, her expression bubbly and amused. "Mekhyl can'k kake Swimmy on a dake!"

"Jodi, it's not a date," Dipole said, tapping the young girl's nose. "Besides, Methyl is too old for Jimmy. Right, Methyl?"

"I suppose so," Methyl mused. "I'm fourteen in Alkali years."

Jodi stared at Methyl and then at Jimmy. "No wonder. Methyl is very old."

"Fourteen isn't that old," Jimmy interjected, but then regret it. Methyl beamed at him and he felt his heart jump. He couldn't have feelings for Methyl – they were just on this one mission. Jimmy shook the thoughts of Methyl away. There was no way that this crush would last long.

"Fourteen in Alkali years is equivalent to fourteen thousand years on Earth," Danté clarified with a grin. "Even Jodi is many centuries older than you. We age much faster here."

"Fourteen thousand years old?!" Jimmy repeated, trying to keep his tone calm and less hysterical. He glanced at Methyl who smiled innocently at him. 14,000 years old to 11.

"Didn't you know that?" Methyl asked, cocking her head to one side. "By the time it was – err, 1800 on Earth, I was born. Do the math if you have to."

Jimmy shook his head, having been terrible in math. "Okay. So that would make me… 77 here? Ugh, just forget it… so when will I ever go back to Earth?"

"Go back to Earth?" repeated all three siens, looking appalled. "Why would you want to go there? Your powers are weakened there and most of them are damn mortals!"

Jimmy felt uncomfortable speaking to them suddenly. Why was there something pressing on the back of his mind? He could barely remember his mortal life for some reason – was he longing to relive it? "No, I meant, if I went back, would…would I forget about Alkali?"

Everyone was silent. Then, Danté lightly took Jodi's hand and said airily, "Come now, Jodi, we cannot bother our guests. Help me get some firewood for when the others wake up. It can get cold for these foreigners."

Jodi obediently followed her father. Jimmy turned slowly to Methyl. She was quietly cutting some herbs in half, not looking at him in the eye. "Technically," she said slowly, before he could repeat his question, "Yes. You will forget everything. Once you leave Alkali all of your experiences here will vanish. However they will return if your soul returns to this island." She turned and smiled at him. "But that's very complicated. You don't need to know about it."

Jimmy smiled warily at her and sat down at the small wooden table away from the kitchen. Dipole stretched his limbs on the countertop and flew around Jimmy's head for a bit. "What're you thinking about, Master Jimmy?" asked Dipole sincerely. "You have your Thinking-Face on."

"I have a thinking face?" asked Jimmy with a slight chuckle. "Well, I'm mostly considering something. It's about David and what Methyl told us. Do you think I should go after him?"

"Go after him?" Dipole repeated; his eyes were wide. "Why would you do that? David is gone, and we have no idea where he could be."

"But Methyl said that he did something to offend the Mirage Orb," Jimmy argued. "What could that mean? What if it's important?"

"You're correct, of course," Dipole conceded dejectedly. "But nevertheless, I cannot allow you to run off and leave everyone here behind just to satisfy your curiosity. Do you remember what you told me that Vincent told you? Even though people like Shin despised you, they still need you. You can't abandon them now!"

Jimmy pressed his hands together. "I don't have to. I think I know where David is. I just need to teleport there and back, and –"

"Teleport?" Dipole echoed skeptically. "Master Jimmy, forgive me, but you can barely control your own powers. How do you expect to teleport?"

"Erm, well…" Jimmy thought for a second. Then, his eyes lit up. "Of course! I don't need to teleport to the Light Territory!"

"The Light Territ– JIMMY! You aren't planning on finding Emily are you?"

"That's the only place he would go," Jimmy pointed out. He stood up and raced for the door. Dipole beat him to it, and covered the doorknob with his body.

"Master Jimmy, please think!" Dipole pleaded. "You can't possibly teleport all the way there! No sien has enough power to teleport that far across Alkali!"

"I can't," Jimmy corrected, "But Notte and Morita can."

Dipole paled considerably. "Notte and Morita? How are you going to ask them to do such a thing for you?"

"Remember how Vincent and Matsuo would always come when someone was about to reveal something to me? Or how Morita and Notte always showed up when something went wrong? Well, I guess that they must sense when the Prophecy is being threatened if they're Overseers."

"Threaten the Prophecy…?" Dipole repeated, lost. Jimmy lunged forward as Dipole was thinking, and stowed Dipole into his pocket and zipped it up tight.

"Sorry, Dipole," Jimmy said apologetically. He opened the door, and ran out into the morning air. It was cold, as Danté had predicted, and Jimmy couldn't stop shaking as he sprinted through the morning air. He had to endanger the Prophecy. And that shouldn't be too hard, Jimmy thought, seeing as I am me.

As if on cue, Jimmy suddenly tripped over a rock and impaled himself on a large boulder. He cried out in pain, and Dipole squirmed desparately in his pocket. Jimmy could feel the blood soaking through this tunic. Yes… to get hurt…that ought to get them…

"Jimmy!"

He felt a strong hand lift him up and lay him on his back. Something cool washed over his wound and it felt instantly better. He focused on Notte and Morita's worried faces. Morita's turned to anger as Jimmy regained most of his blood.

"What were you doing running around here?" she demanded, standing up. Jimmy had forgotten how tall she was in her black and purple dress. Her red eyes blazed. "You could have killed yourself! You could have ended Alkali!"

"That's why I did it," Jimmy croaked, spitting out some blood. He hadn't realized how sharp that boulder was. "I mean, not to end Alkali, but I needed to talk to you two."

"Hmm?" Notte cocked an eyebrow.

"I need to talk to David, and I have reason to believe that he is with a girl named Emily in the Light Territory," Jimmy said slowly. "See, after we busted Methyl out of EJE, he escaped, right? So now Methyl told me that he had a hand in creating and stealing the Mirage Orb, but there's something that doesn't quite fit into the picture –"

Morita clipped Jimmy's shoulder with a knock-out punch. Jimmy reeled back, stunned by the sharp burning in his arm.

"Morita!" Notte gaped. "What are you doing?"

"Did you just hear that? Geez, you wouldn't be able to run Alkali without me!" Morita pointed accusingly at Jimmy. "Sure, they're following the Prophecy, but they broke into EJE!"

"You broke into EJE?" exclaimed Notte, surprised. "That's impossible! Argosy hasn't let a prisoner out in years! How did you do it?"

"That's not the point!" Jimmy said impatiently. "I need you to quickly help me teleport there and capture David! I think …" How was he going to convince them? Morita obviously just wanted to pummel him into the ground. Then, he had it. "…I think that it is necessary for the Prophecy."

Morita and Notte stared at him, stunned. Then they turned to each other. Notte finally took in a deep breath and said quickly, "All right, we'll have to help you. I suppose that since David has been mixed up in this then … yes. Where in the Light Territory do you need to go? I can supply us with unlimited chakra and chi if you're specific on where we're going. I don't want to look like an idiot showing up at a basketball game instead of David's hideout."

"Umm, well, it's not really a hideout…" Jimmy explained hesitantly. "See, it's kind of…a … relation's house."

"David has a family?" Morita and Notte asked at the same time. They shuddered. Morita added, "I feel bad for her. She must hate him. No one can stand David's guts."

"No one can stand David," Notte echoed. They laughed a bit and then quieted when Jimmy threw them a sharp look.

"No, seriously," Jimmy pressed, "Her name is Emily. Look up Emily Bamako for teleportation directions or whatever it is you do."

Notte closed her eyes and mimed typing in the air in front of her. Jimmy could faintly see the outline of a screen above her fingers. Morita peered at the data and whistled. "Wow," Morita snickered, "Emily Bamako is a Light sien that lives in a pretty good neighborhood. I wonder why David would be hiding there."

"Do you have a lock on it?" Jimmy asked excitedly.

"Yep," Notte said clearly, opening her eyes. "We can be there within two seconds. Question, though – what if he's not there?"

Dipole suddenly ripped out of Jimmy's tunic. Small pebbles surrounded his being, and Dipole was panting. He turned accusatorily towards Jimmy. "I nearly ran out of air in your pocket!" Dipole hissed dryly.

"Sorry, Dipole," Jimmy muttered. "But look! Notte and Morita agreed to take us to Emily's."

"Oh the Joy, the minions have gathered, after a boy, who holds a large part in this matter," Dipole recited bitterly.

Notte's teleportation was much faster and quicker than Matsuo's. Probably because she's an Avatar and has more experience, Jimmy thought. They flew through the air like torpedoes, whizzing right over the Air Territory in barely a minute. Dipole sat on Jimmy's back, enjoying the ride, his fury forgotten.

"Do you do this often?" Jimmy yelled over the updrafts of air.

"I do a lot more than Morita," Notte replied calmly. She smiled at Jimmy and then at Morita. "I have to visit all of the Territories very quickly to check on them. Morita usually just uses beams of sunlight or walks. She doesn't enjoy teleportation as much." Notte snickered. "Morita gets air-sickness."

Notte spiraled behind Morita just as the fire blast soared through the air. Morita growled at her friend, who was laughing and doing cartwheels in the air. Jimmy caught sight of the Dark Territory below them and shuddered. The mood darkened as they saw the dreary trees, the black of the night forever hanging over the land; and even EJE, which looked no different from yesterday, to Jimmy's surprise.

Then, there was sunlight, pouring all over them like honey. Jimmy basked in the glow, and watched as fairies and other Light siens flit about around them. Some were racing, others were gardening, and most were talking and laughing. It looked like the Dark Territory that was connected to their island didn't even exist.

Then, with a sharp jerk, Jimmy was standing on golden pavement. They were in front of a pretty yellow house with white French doors and a balcony on the second floor. It looked like any normal house. The only difference was that this one seemed strangely empty.

Notte jumped up to the balcony level, and set up a force field to prevent anyone from escaping the house. The white draped over the house and cloaked it, until it was hard to see. Then, Morita knocked firmly on the door. Jimmy walked up the stone pavement that wound up to the door, which was raised on a small patio. It looked so peaceful.

A girl answered the door. She had brown hair that was the color of hazelnuts with red flecks in them and her eyes were a light cinnamon. She gazed at Morita's stern face and had the nerve to smile. Her hair was tied in a braid that trailed down her back and she wore a simple yellow gown. Was this Emily? Then, Jimmy noticed that her left sleeve hung limp and empty. Such hatred came from David's mouth that it ripped one arm off and disabled her ever since. Yes, this had to be Emily.

But just to be sure, Jimmy focused on her head. This time, the mind-reading was much easier. Light siens didn't protect themselves from mind-reading.

David better not come down from his room. They might take him away like Methyl did.

"Can I help you in any way?" Emily asked. Her voice was young and light – completely different from the panicked mind she truly had.

"Are you Emily Bamako?" asked Morita bluntly.

Emily's face was shrouded in a fake mask that Jimmy had seen Matsuo wear. Emily's was easier to see through; and hear. Lie! They're after David! "No, my name is Shannon Konini. Is something wrong?"

"We're looking for Methyl," Notte said smoothly. She strode up to Emily, whose face turned to brief shock. "Would you know where she is?"

"Methyl!" Emily spat, her words filled with hate. Jimmy didn't need to hear her thoughts to see that she meant it. It looked wrong with her placid face. "She continues to steal my cousin, David! He's out right now and won't be back for awhile." She examined Notte's face. "Aren't you a vampire?"

"What?" Notte asked, sidetracked. "What do you mean?"

"That girl Methyl," Emily said matter-of-factually. "She had a girl like you with her the last time she visited. I remember that. She was looking for David when she came over, and that vampire girl bit me and completely knocked me out. I will never understand how she managed to survive pure sunlight!"

Before Jimmy could get a comment in, Emily took note of him. "Who are you, young man?"

Please let him be one of David's old classmates! Maybe he can shoo these evil people away.

"My name is Pierce," Jimmy lied. "I'm from David's old school. I haven't seen him in awhile. Is he sick?"

"No," Emily said, her face lifting with relief. Oh thank goodness! I hope David will be happier seeing this boy. "David is out right now. Why don't you three come inside for a moment?"

Morita and Notte complied, passing by Emily without a word. As Jimmy started into the house, he felt Emily grip his arm. She whispered quietly into his ear, "David is upstairs." Jimmy nodded to show he understood, and Emily released his arm. "Oh dear!" Emily said, throwing her arms up in despair. "I should have brought some napkins down for you three! Pierce, would you mind hurrying up to the pantry for me? You can't miss it."

Jimmy nodded, and trooped up the stairs. They were carved into the wall and were a pale limestone. There was a small window overlooking the street halfway up. As Jimmy walked quietly up the staircase, he noticed there was a fork at the top – one had to be David's room.

Jimmy felt Dipole squirm in his pocket. Dipole could hear something.

Jimmy tiptoed up to the room to left. It was a girl's room; pink with frilly lamps and stuffed animals. Everything was a peaceful pink, and there was just a dot of red on the walls for the smiling bears' noses. Everything was pink, that is, except for David sitting at the pink desk. He was writing on black stationary with white ink; it was addressed to Ilizar, R.I.P.

His hair was covered by a blue cap and he wore a blue shirt with white web-work designs across the front. His hand moved feverishly over the paper, and there were specks of water on the paper. Jimmy could've sworn this was a different person. But it wasn't; David turned to look at Jimmy when he opened the door. His eyes opened wide and he let out a holler.

"JIMMY!" David yelled. Instantly Jimmy felt the door behind him close with a slam. David lunged for the window, which shattered as David neared it. Jimmy was expecting this to an extent. Jimmy dove into his pocket and drew out Dipole, who flew up to David's ear and pulled hard. David let out a yelp and he stood still, stunned. Jimmy felt down inside of him the exchange of chakra in the air.

Then David was hanging from his ankle in the air, pumping his arms energetically and flailing his other limbs. "Let me down!" David ordered, his face turning pink. Jimmy sat on a cloud of air from outside and looked placidly at David. "You damn Lexard!"

Jimmy had not heard this in a long time. He was almost shocked to hear it again.

"What did you do to offend the Mirage Orb?" asked Jimmy instead.

David froze in the air, stunned. "What?"

"You know what I said," Jimmy growled, cracking his knuckles the way he had seen Ilizar do it. The effect was painful for both boys; it hurt Jimmy's knuckles and it gave David a terrible reminder of his lost friend. "Now answer or I'll kill you."

"If you want me to answer, why would you kill me?" David asked, trying to undo the magic on his ankle. Jimmy had made sure that Dipole was sucking all of David's chakra so he couldn't use his powers, but he didn't want to take any chances. Jimmy slapped David's outstretched hands away from his ankle.

"You have committed so many crimes I'm sure no one will care if you die," Jimmy replied with a sneer. "Now answer! Dipole may not give you back your powers!"

David gnashed his teeth. "You're demented. I'll just wait out my time. I'll die anyways – Matsuo has been away from me for about 12 hours now. I'll die within three hours maximum."

Jimmy had forgotten about that. But he had to get his answer. Soon – before David died. But that would mean taking David to where Matsuo was – which meant where they were. Was that wise?

Then Jimmy's mind was made up. He heard someone coming up the stairs. He couldn't let Emily know what was happening. David heard her coming up as well. He was prepared to yell. Jimmy sighed and constructed a quick portal – one he had seen Notte do enough times. It was an other-space pocket. That meant that items could float around in a space that was as big as Jimmy wanted it to be and would sustain Earth if he made the opening large enough.

Then, Jimmy bagged David's head with it. David slid in easily, and Jimmy zipped up the pocket without another word. He gave the zipper to Dipole, who would hold it. Dipole nodded and flew out the window in understanding. Then Jimmy jumped out the window onto the patio as well. He heard Emily open the door expectantly, only to find an empty pink room and the window open.

She had just shooed Notte and Morita out of the house. She ran to the window and saw Jimmy and Notte and Morita disappear in a cloud into the sky. With a hiss of rage, Emily jumped out the window and focused her powers on the disappearing clouds. She would not let David be taken away from her again.

She locked onto its signal, and rode to it in a blink using the sunlight.

She pounced on Jimmy, and raked his back with her fingers. He hadn't even heard her. Fire leapt up from her nails and dug into his skin. Jimmy screamed and twisted around to see his attacker, blood flaying around them like a sprinkler.

Notte tackled Emily and slapped her across the face with a burst of air. Morita joined in giddily, executing a tight kick to Emily's stomach. Emily screeched and tumbled out from the cloud. They continued to fly over the Light Territory as Emily fell. Notte quickly turned to assess the damage done to Jimmy. It was minor, due to the fact that they acted quickly.

Dipole was nervously playing with the zipper that held David, and Morita was chucking balls of fire down where Emily was. One hit its mark, and Morita let out a little cheer. It died as Emily suddenly flared up, and raced towards them, a flaming inferno.

"She's a Hybrid!" Notte gasped in astonishment. "Emily is a Fire-Light sien! Goddamnit, Zepetiyah!"

Emily's hair had morphed into a deep crimson and her eyes were cold silver. Her yellow gown had burnt away, revealing a red fire-proof outfit. Emily held a white sword in her hand; it was so hot that the air around it was sizzling and creating a veil of mist. Emily flew towards the cloud, her eyes locked on Jimmy. He had tricked her. He had taken David.

Then Dipole flew up in front of Jimmy, shielding him from Emily's attack. With a hiss of outrage, Emily struck Dipole aside with one hand; and she was sucked into the open other-space pocket. She smacked into David, who was about to leave. Emily quickly tried to avoid twisting David's guts with her sword and she tried to avoid breaking David's nose. She nearly succeeded in doing both. Emily's sword went through David's left hand and his nose spurt blood as her fist made contact. As they tumbled around inside, Dipole quickly zippered it up again.

To everyone's amazement, Dipole saluted to Notte and Morita. "All taken care of!" he said with a wavering smile. "Can we keep going now? We don't want Emily to get out. She seems very upset."

Jimmy took Dipole into his arms and hugged him tightly. "Thanks buddy," Jimmy whispered.

"I read a book about this once," Notte piped up. "It's about a boy who is saved by his worthless sidekick and he realizes the true meaning of friendship."

"Which one am I?" Jimmy and Dipole asked at the same time.

"It's hard to tell," Morita and Notte muttered apologetically.

Jimmy peeked into the kitchen. Methyl wasn't in his sight of view. He opened the door a crack and slipped in. The sun was shining, and it was probably around 9 AM. He heard voices. They were Vincent's, Methyl's, and Matsuo's. Jimmy wondered why Shin wasn't talking.

He presented himself, and realized how hungry he was. Methyl was serving plates of apple dippers and there was a ton of pancakes and waffles lying around. Matsuo was eating some pancakes, Vincent was ripping apart a bagel, and Shin was prodding his waffle with his fork. Aelia was feeding off some of Shin's untouched waffles. Glaci was sitting promptly beside Matsuo, its eyes closed. Fazio looked uncomfortable, sandwiched between Matsuo and Vincent. She was curious about the bagel and pancakes in front of her, but didn't make a move to eat them.

"Oh you're back," Shin said, looking relieved. Jimmy's heart soared. So Shin still did care! Jimmy went over to the seat in between Methyl and Shin. Aelia was between Matsuo and Shin. Methyl was next to Vincent. Methyl sat down, and pushed a platter of apples into Jimmy's line of view.

"Apples?" Methyl asked.

"Umm…" Jimmy wasn't so sure. They looked healthy enough, but… "Are these apples any different from those on Earth?"

"Nope!" Methyl said with a cheery smile. "This is 100 organic from Earth!"

Jimmy felt his stomach turn over. "No thank you. I'm allergic to apples."

Jimmy could feel everyone staring at him. Desparately, Aelia snapped, "What do you mean you're allergic? How can you be allergic?"

"I'm allergic!" Jimmy cried out in despair. "Okay? The citrus levels are too high for me or something! But that's not the point! I – err – I kidnapped David and Emily."

Matsuo choked on her pancake. Vincent fell backwards off his chair. Shin banged his fist on the table in astonishment. Methyl stared at him horrifically. Glaci's head snapped up. Fazio rushed to save the mess that Vincent had left on his plate. Aelia sputtered out the water she was drinking.

"That didn't come out right," Dipole muttered.

David sat tied up to a chair with all of his chakra drained under a spotlight. Emily was left in the other-space pocket. There was no telling how quickly she might defeat them if she saw David tied up like they did.

"What're we going to do with him?" groaned Matsuo. "It would've been better if he just died, Jimmy. You didn't need to bring him all the way here just so you could ask a few questions."

"But they're about the Mirage Orb!" Jimmy protested. "Methyl told me that David did something to offend the Mirage Orb so he kept losing his memory. What was it, David? Tell me!"

David just laughed, his face bruised from the punches Matsuo and Shin had dealt to him. "Why should I?" David asked, taking another blow from Matsuo's fist. "There's nothing that I can remember about it anyway! It's all a blur to me – Emily just told me that the Mirage Orb had so much power that it erased my mind once, and Methyl was the one who made it!"

Shin sighed with reluctance. "Sorry, Jimmy. It looks like he's blank."

"Blank?!" David repeated red with anger. "What do you think I am? Useless? Of course not! There's something I remember that's more important! I had a dream that this would happen!" He turned around to glare at Jimmy. "Yeah, I know exactly what damn happens, kid! Matsuo, her Earth element has been already wasted! And now – ha! She'll be no more than a Water Sien after this ordeal! And Shin? You feel something's going to change, aren't you? Well, buddy, get ready because your world is going to get a whole lot worse! And Methyl? Ha! There go your damn experiments! And Jimmy! You get the worst part of it!"

Everyone stared in silence at David. Then, he quieted suddenly. But he didn't stop talking. "And me. And Emily. We get wasted, too. It's all part of Methyl's little experiment. It sucks us all up and puts our lives in topsy-turvy land. It's her fault. Methyl should die for her damn ideas. If she weren't alive right now, Shin would never have met Jimmy. And that means the world would've been a whole lot better without this Lexard!"

Shin gave David a smart right hook. "You bastard," he growled. Jimmy flinched from the word. "You just don't get it because you don't have any friends! Sure, we hated Jimmy in the beginning, but he's a good kid at heart. Look at him – the kid's barely eleven and he's wrapped up in a Prophecy that's going to change us? I don't give an "f" what you think."

David stared open-mouthed at Shin's outburst. Then, Shin turned away and abruptly made for his room. Vincent made a move to follow, but Matsuo held him back. She shook her head at him and glared at David. "Now look what you've done, idiot," Matsuo hissed. She cuffed David's head and turned to Methyl. "Can you get Jimmy's other-space pocket? We have to make our way through your village as soon as possible. I also have to contact Notte and Morita before we leave. It appears that David is also Overseer. I need their advice on what to do with him."

"Hey, Matsuo?" Jimmy asked tentively. "Is what David said true?"

Matsuo nodded. "It is. Unfortunately when EJE's tank of the criminals' powers exploded it sucked up my Earth element. But I'll be fine – really. I still have Air and Water to hurt people with, right?"

Jimmy frowned. The pained expression in Matsuo's eyes was obvious this time. He couldn't imagine losing one of his elements and being okay with it.

"I can hook you up," Glaci volunteered. Glaci's calm voice broke the glum atmosphere, and Jimmy turned to watch Glaci. It cocked and ear towards Matsuo and the other stood erect and proud. Then, a small screen appeared from Glaci's gem. Notte's face was portrayed on the left side and Morita's took up the right side. Both were eating; they appeared to be sharing a bag that was labeled Cheddar Bunnies.

"Ah, Notte, there's a message," Morita said through a mouthful of food.

"Hmm… oh! Matsuo and the others! Crap, this can't be good…" Notte sidled in closer to the screen. She cocked her head to one side expectantly. "Well, I'm here, what's the problem?"

"Are those Cheddar Bunnies?" Matsuo asked, looking happily excited.

"Yeah, they are!" Notte and Morita exclaimed.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Jimmy followed Methyl diligently, who led the way on the worn path to her village. Shin and Vincent were still arguing about it as they walked.

"What if they recognize us as frauds?" Vincent fussed. "We should be going around this town!"

"But you have blue hair and I can change my hair and eyes blue," Shin argued. "As long as we don't speak that much and leave most of the talking to Methyl, we'll be out of this town in no time."

"What's the name of your village?" asked Matsuo, who was behind Methyl. Glaci's ears perked up in interest as well. Jimmy and Dipole also sped up their pace to hear Methyl's answer.

"It's called Ayutlas," Methyl said with a smile. "Our founder was named Ayu, and she started the whole chain of human-rumors about Atlantis. She had long brown hair, blue eyes, and a blue-feather head-band that could detect almost anything, a blue dress, and blue gloves. It was said she even had a type of fairy creature with her, locked inside a sapphire gem that she kept on a chain that would whisper to her the secrets of power. She is still alive today, and one of Rebecca's friends."

"Wow," Jimmy said, punching the description into his new watch's keyboard.

"_Ayu of Atlantis_," Reimi said aloud, "_A powerful Water Sien who founded Ayutlas for fugitives. 78 of the siens are from Earth, 20 are from other worlds, and 2 are free Guardians._"

"Free Guardians?" asked Jimmy blankly.

Reimi's screen rearranged itself to show two pictures. One showed a common Wusyl chained to a wall and the other showed it flying around in a forest. "_Many Guardians have been instinctively serving siens for many millennia_," Reimi said. "_Often when a Guardian dies, it has failed its job for its master. When its master dies before the Guardian, then the Guardian becomes free and will never become a slave to another sien ever again._"

"Is that rare?" Jimmy asked. "After all, Ayutlas only has 2 of them."

"Of course it's rare!" Dipole said with a sigh. He shook his head and reminded Jimmy, "Do you think that I wouldn't kill myself just to save you? All Guardians form a special bond with their masters until we don't even call you _master _but _friend_. Once that line is gone, then we will do anything to protect you. Essentially, "free" Guardians are usually outcasts because it meant that they hated their masters."

"That must be terrible," Fazio commented. Jimmy took note of Fazio; she was smiling politely at them, and her purple eyes were calm and dismissive. It was hard to believe that she would be serving the hyperactive and energetic Vincent. Yet she seemed pleased whenever he was around. Jimmy couldn't help but be reminded of the phrase, _opposites attract_ even though it was obvious that their relationship was firmly drawn.

"Did you have a previous master, Fazio?" asked Dipole kindly.

"I had forty-three previous masters," Fazio replied matter-of-factually. When Dipole and Jimmy stared horrifically at her, she added, "But most of them were short-term services. Like when I worked for Mister Killarney in Cleveland; he died one year after he employed me, and I was passed on to his cousin's sister's son as a new marriage present, but then he ran away with another woman, so then I ended up getting employed to Missus Violet, who drank so much that she told me to kill her, so I was forced to do so and then Emmett's Jail for Evil took me in as a delinquent…and the reason why I couldn't help but get another master even though I know I'm free is because….well…I just _knew _that somewhere out there, someone needed me. And I'll keep looking for them." Fazio slumped a little and walked slowly forward.

"That's terrible," Vincent said, clapping Fazio's shoulder in remorse. She jumped a bit at his touch, and craned her neck to look at Vincent's sincere expression. "You must be very diligent. I promise not to make you do that."

"Thank you, Master Vincent," Fazio chimed. She smiled at him, and Vincent returned to bickering with Shin.

Jimmy turned back to the road they were on. If he squinted closely at the horizon, he could see Ayutlas; it was just a blue dot now, but he knew what it really was from Reimi. It was a large lake filled with ice spires and domes on snow, and it was always drizzling over the town. The fish never stopped coming and the sun never stopped shining over their winter crops.

Methyl explained, however, that Ayutlas was not at all that peaceful. Reimi seconded this. Ayutlas was one of the most violent neighborhoods on Alkali with lots of gangs and black markets. Matsuo's village was a peaceful village that broke off from Ayutlas. Matsuo was proud that she was finally going to meet her "mother country" even though it was tough. "That would explain a lot about me," Matsuo had told Jimmy with a smile. "After all, my last name is quite similar to the village."

_Who will we meet in Ayutlas_? Jimmy wondered. _But no one is supposed to join our troupe because that would ruin the prophecy. So it's just us five with our Guardians; me, Shin, Vincent, Matsuo, and Methyl with Dipole, Aelia, Fazio, and Glaci…and they say that three's a crowd…_

That reminded Jimmy of the blood-paper that sat in his new pants-pocket. It lay heavily with its written words. The one Jimmy was most concerned about, now that the whole "troupe" had been assembled was who was going to kill him.

It couldn't be Matsuo, could it? She had shown him so much kindness, and she had such a warm smile. It had been she that had supported him from the beginning. But was it all a ruse to get close to him, and then kill him?

Maybe it was Shin. Shin hadn't liked him in the beginning. But he seemed more content with Jimmy around since Vincent had come along. But Shin could be holding a grudge against him for depriving the Mirage Orb of its powers. That was enough motive to kill, right?

Perhaps it was even Vincent? But Vincent was so much fun and looked on the bright side of things so often. Yet Jimmy couldn't help but remember Vincent demanding for Jimmy's memories to be erased and his Orb powers to be taken away. Was that enough to kill him? Sadly, Vincent was very sketchy about his emotions – unlike Matsuo's constant smiles, he was _always_ sarcastic and laughing.

Maybe it was even Methyl who would finish him off. He didn't know Methyl that well. But Jimmy's heart was pleading that it wasn't so. Methyl was so kind and sincere – he could see that she hadn't meant for the Mirage Orb to be put in so much trouble. Surely a person who was so concerned about others would be good?

Jimmy frowned. Maybe he could eliminate some candidates using the other clues? There was the person who had been to many places. Surely that had to be Methyl, who had journeyed far and wide just to find potion ingredients? Then there was the person who would change forever…hmm…he couldn't be sure who that would be. The person who would kill him – he also skipped this. And then there was the mysterious person. _There _was a puzzler. He knew the least about _everybody_. Methyl he knew the least about – or did he? No, he knew all about her Mirage Orb. Right? So it was either Matsuo, Shin, or Vincent who was mysterious…but he didn't know much about any of them!

Jimmy felt _very _confused. At that moment, Methyl caught his attention. "We're at the gates," she announced loudly, "Leave most of the talking to me, okay? You may not understand their dialect."

Jimmy hastily stepped in line behind Shin and curiously peered at the gates Methyl was talking about. They were a large section of ice that had been cut into multiple patterns. There was something labeled in Water on the left column, which Matsuo recited as they drew nearer:

"_Where Ends Meet and Journeys Begin_."

There was a small man sitting at the gate. He had a crooked nose and bushy eyebrows that were the color of rye. He had a large moustache that covered most of his mouth, close enough to be called a beard. He was snoring and sound asleep when they trouped up to him. Methyl's eyes brightened when she saw him. Gingerly, she walked up to him and said something in Water.

Matsuo jumped a little in surprise.

The man cracked one eye open and smiled. "Aye, tis Wandering Metal ain't it?" he asked groggily.

"Meandering Methyl," Methyl corrected brightly. "G'day Bingham. How've yew bin since I last saw ye?"

Jimmy was astonished in the language. He could hear it, but he wasn't sure if he understood it correctly. Methyl's voice had morphed into that of a country girl's. "I've bin fair," Bingham replied huskily. "So, lemme sewpose dese are yur friends, yah? Now, what village yew from, lassie?"

"I'm from the village next door," explained Matsuo in a warm tone. She held out her hand for Bingham to shake it. Both Methyl and Bingham stared at it. Matsuo's hand retreated back to her side. "My name is Matsuo."

"Bingham," the man said gruffly. He turned to Vincent and did a double-take. "Excuse me, young suh, but ain't you a bit young to be out travelin'?"

Vincent looked appalled at the thought. "I'm not _young_!" Vincent yelled out. "In fact, I'm older than Jimmy here!"

"Jimmy?" repeated Bingham, squinting at Jimmy, who waved nervously. He felt Bingham's stare shoot straight through him. "What a nice boy. Yew must be shy. So how old're you two?"

"11," Jimmy said quietly.

"15!" Vincent snapped.

Now this was a shocker. Jimmy knew that Vincent was older, but by four years and barely any height? That must've been disappointing.

"Oh, and you, young lady?" asked Bingham kindly. Fazio looked around to see whom he was addressing, and Shin whispered, "He means you."

"Ah!" Fazio said, dismayed. "I … I'm Fazio."

"Fazio? What an innerestin' name, missy," Bingham chortled. "Where are yews all from? Color-hair? Short boy? Young boy? Fazio?"

Shin turned a bit red. "My name is _Shin_, not Color-hair. I'm from…" He caught Methyl's warning glance, "…from the Earth Territory. I was camping there for some time and set up a house there. I'm from … Matsuo's village. We're – err, distant relatives."

"_Really distant_," Vincent muttered. Out loud, Vincent added, "I'm from the Air Territory. I was sightseeing and settled down there some time ago. Believe me – I stick out being a Water sien and all."

"You probably stick out anywhere you go, with the way _you_ look," Shin snickered.

Vincent and Shin glared at each other as Fazio spoke. "I come from the Water village of _Noreen, _on the outskirts of the Air Territory," explained Fazio. "I grew up with a coven of Water Guardians and we protect our masters."

Jimmy was surprised that Bingham had mistaken Fazio for a sien and not a Guardian. It was then that Bingham also realized his mistake. "Oi, you're a Guardian, aren't yew?" he asked, peering at her closely. "Is that your village's dress code? How odd!"

When Jimmy realized that it was his turn, he said quickly, "I'm quite new to Alkali. I'm not sure where I came from exactly."

"And I grew up in Danté and Jodi's inn!" Vincent said abruptly, trying to receive attention for himself. "They raised me well and I am showing Jimmy and Shin and Matsuo around Methyl's town."

"Really now, so you've been here before?" Bingham asked, curious now.

Vincent regretted having spoken up. "Well, err, yes. Once, I believe."

"When was that? Can you remember?"

"I think it was the Moonlight Festival," Vincent relented at Methyl's urgent hand-motions.

"What's the Moon Festival?" Jimmy, Fazio, Dipole, and Aelia asked out loud.

"The Moon Festival is a holiday that occurs every end of the month when the moon is full," explained Methyl, cutting what Vincent was about to say. "It is a festive day in which all Water siens gather around the largest body of water in their village or province and have tournaments under the Moon, which help us pull the tides."

"I have that in my village as well!" Matsuo said excitedly. "We call it Moontide Day, though."

"How nice," Bingham said enthusiastically. "Go on through, den. Is it experimentation business, Methyl?"

"To an extent," Methyl replied with a grin.

"Well, don't let me stop yews," Bingham said, waving them through. As Jimmy passed Bingham, the man nodded curtly to him. His lazy eye was mainly trained on David, who was trooping behind them somewhat loyally. He knew that only Water siens were welcome in Methyl's town, and if you weren't, you'd be killed. Glaci and Fazio followed him, their powers ready to stabilize him.

Methyl brightened up considerably when they were in the village. It was a cheery town with bright blue roofs and nice wooden houses. There were a few ponds with children skating on it or adults ducking clothing into it. Many greeted Methyl warily, but Methyl returned their greetings happily. Eventually Jimmy and the group caught onto her mood and began to bravely wave to the villagers as well.

"They're very friendly," Shin noted as a woman threw Methyl a white shirt. Methyl graciously continued to walk on by, admiring the shirt and tossing it back. They exchanged some quick words in Water and then the mother scolded a boy who was sitting on a floating blob of water. Methyl did all this without breaking stride.

"We are a peaceful town for the most part, depending on what you consider as "peaceful"," Methyl replied. "We have only participated in three hundred and ninety six out of the three hundred and ninety eight wars ever fought on Alkali."

"Wow, that's impressive," Matsuo agreed, looking about with renewed respect. "Which wars did you exclude yourself from? To do so for any war is quite difficult."

Jimmy wasn't sure what two wars' difference was, but the other siens seemed politely interested all the same. "We did not participate in the Great War between Light and Dark or the War of the Avatars."

"Holy Zepetiyah, those are the _MAJOR _wars!" Vincent shouted. He drew some attention but most of them laughed, thinking he was an ignorant child. "How did your village stay out of those? The Avatar Wars wiped out 88 of Alkali's population, and the Light and Dark wars wiped out another 90 before they figured out they were a separate element. We suffered greatly during those times! So you were part of the remaining 12 for the Avatar Wars and 10 of the Light and Dark?"

"That's right," Methyl said with a grim smile. "We take pride in having not participated in those Wars. It took a lot of negotiations and threats to make each enemy go away. We even slayed four Avatars who tried to get us to fight for their element. Three, believe it or not, were Water siens, too."

Jimmy could not believe what he was hearing. Methyl's village had killed _four Avatars_ – and three were of her element! _That must've taken a lot of siens and plenty of help_, he thought. He couldn't imagine facing Morita alone, much less Notte if she controlled all of the elements.

"There seems to be a temple around here," Aelia piped up. She fiddled with her headphone dials. "I'm picking up a lot of readings that indicate that most of these people are coming from it. Either that or they're preparing for some ceremony."

Methyl nodded briskly. "It's Sunday."

"Sunday?" Jimmy repeated, remembering what Sunday meant. A wave of memories hit him – getting ready to go to church, playing video games in the morning, hanging out with his friends from school in the afternoon, and doing his homework at the last minute. Was it Sunday already? He knew that he had entered Alkali on a Thursday…but those times seemed ages ago.

"Sunday is a time for church and whatnot," Dipole said, confirming Jimmy's thoughts. "So you have a church here?"

"It's the Northern Water Temple if you'd like to see it," Methyl said kindly. "It's on the way to the Chamber. We can pay our respects to the God of Aqua and be on our way."

"Is it like Poseidon?" queried Matsuo.

"The God of Aqua helps us forge _aquamarine_ gemstones," clarified Methyl. They walked down a dusty path that hadn't been used for some time. Jimmy caught sight of a stray chicken waddling in a trash bin. But Methyl didn't seem concerned with the alleyway route they were taking. "We use these stones to make a living. They're only found in our village."

"You're a mining village?" Vincent asked in disbelief. He gestured towards the scent of the nearby ponds and the soft bubble of a small waterfall. "I don't hear anyone digging around here."

"Of course not!" Methyl giggled. "If we hit it with sharp pikes or used our powers to chisel at the ground we'd just damage them! No – err, Jimmy, you may not want to hear this. It's sort of mean towards Earth siens."

Jimmy could already tell what she was going to say. "You enslave Earth siens to find them and use their powers to bring it up to the surface _wholly_."

"That's right," Methyl replied sheepishly. She averted her eyes to a nearby man and waved happily. Her tone stayed melancholy however. "We are a village nicknamed the Slave-Town. We enslave all that are not Water siens, and we regard all other siens as trash. We are the kings and queens of Alkali – we should be the ones ruling over it. Is it but not an island, after all?"

As Methyl recited the motto she had grown up with, Jimmy slowly began to piece together Methyl's childhood; she had been taught that she was the best element. So when she grew up she invented the Mirage Orb, and drew blood from other siens without caring about the side effect. She only erased David's memory because she wanted the Mirage Orb's secret to herself. She did not look for a cure to David's first memory-wipe. She merely sent him home. She didn't really care about other people – she still, in her heart, despite all that they had done for _her_, thought she was above them.

Jimmy's previous feelings for Methyl were replaced by a burning in his heart. He felt betrayed in some way. But she had never known, and he had promised to himself that he wouldn't cling to her. Jimmy stared at the ground, lost in thought when Shin stopped walking. Aelia's ears twitched and she faced a blank wall.

She stared at it for some three seconds, Methyl obliviously walking on. But Matsuo noticed and she tugged on Methyl's sleeve to get her attention. Methyl whirled around as Aelia bent to examine the small hole in the wall. "Aha," Methyl said, looking relieved. "You found the Slave-Hole. Please – take a look. It's an enchantment that will sense any sien passing by and record what element they possess."

"_Isn't that a problem_?" Vincent asked worriedly. He gazed around frantically for an escape route. The alley they were in, Jimmy realized, was deserted and too high up for a quick flying spell.

"Oh, no, they are turned off on Sundays," Methyl said with a reassuring smile. "You will all be fine."

Jimmy relaxed as did the others. But Shin and Aelia still glanced at the hole as if expecting lasers to shoot out. They continued through the alleyway until they reached a pretty stone temple. It was small, with just one pedestal in the middle. There was something missing in the middle of it …

"The Great Chief of our village stands there and unlocks the Powers of Aqua every new moon," Methyl explained. "Only the Great Chiefs have the power to activate the Powers of Aqua. But to be honest I stole some of the Chief's blood for the Mirage Orb – the Power of Aqua now runs through _your _veins, Jimmy."

Jimmy flinched and pinched his arm unconsciously. He had someone else's blood in him – he had never thought about it that way before. Methyl smiled in his direction – it was no longer filled with warmth but with blank, empty pity.

"We should see the temple before it gets too late and we'd have to stay here for the night," Methyl hinted. Shin and Vincent rushed forward, both not wanting to be sleeping in enemy Territory. Matsuo followed slowly, admiring the stone-work and tracing the symbols in Water on some walls. Jimmy and the Guardians followed Methyl, who swept off after Matsuo.

Jimmy felt like he had purposely been led like a dog found in a garbage heap, pampered and cared for, and then dumped because he had fleas. Dipole was just talking to Glaci, and Aelia was trooping behind Fazio, who was floating a bit off the ground.

"Glaci, do you have temples like these in Matsuo's village?" asked Jimmy, trying to feel less lonely. The temple proved to be eerily quiet and the flickering candles only cast shadows across the floor that stretched out to every hidden corner. While Shin, Vincent, Matsuo, and Methyl investigated the temple, Jimmy decided to wait outside where it was sunny.

"None with these Slave-Holes," Glaci replied. It cast a sharp beam of blue around the temple. Forty red dots appeared in random locations along the wall. "I wonder why this town is concerned with getting so many. Surely if Earth siens knew they were being captured, why would they come here?"

"Maybe like us?" Jimmy suggested.

"But not many people would come here even if they were on our mission," Glaci pointed out. "This is quite a puzzler. Perhaps Methyl could shed some light on this if she wasn't so suspicious."

"Suspicious?" Jimmy repeated. He felt like he was doing that a lot lately.

"Yeah, mysterious-like," Fazio agreed. "When we were in the alleyway, saying that it was okay to look at the Slave-Hole, I thought for sure that she was going to bust us and put us up as slaves."

_The mysterious person_, Jimmy thought to himself. _The one who is the most mysterious doesn't have to be the least understandable._

_I know a lot about Methyl. I understand how she is. She must be the mysterious person._

_So – _Jimmy had been dreading this moment since he learned of the prophecy – _either Matsuo, Vincent, or Shin is going to kill me_.

Jimmy closed his eyes and thought. There had to be something he was missing. He knew that when he first had a Dream about the Prophecy, Morita had told him that the killer would deceive and kill him unless he was cured. Cured of what – his Lexard powers or the fact that he had a Mirage Orb implanted in his heart somehow?

He felt a tap on his shoulder. Fazio was pointing to the temple, which was starting to rumble and shake a bit.

Jimmy felt all of his fears crumble to dust as he rushed in without thinking. And Jimmy was _always _thinking.

He shouted, "MATSUO! SHIN! VINCENT! METHYL! The temple is shaking!"

"It's collapsing," Glaci corrected.

Matsuo flew out of the temple on a small cloud of air. Her cloud suddenly popped and disappeared and Matsuo fell onto the ground with a groan. Jimmy ran to help her, but she stood up immediately, and brushed her clothing. Blood trickled out of her nose and her dainty silver "ears" that came out from her hair were chipped and smothered in black.

"Get out of here, now!" Matsuo ordered. She turned towards the temple and flexed her fingers.

Jimmy scrambled backwards, confused but obedient. Just then Vincent came dashing out, holding his arm in agony. His left leg was lame, and his tunic was cut in some places. He limped out, and faced the temple with furious eyes. Everyone was watching the temple as it collapsed. No one nearby rushed out of their houses to see what was wrong. In fact, the exact opposite happened – they continued doing their laundry and scolding their children.

Then, Aelia leaped forward in front of the temple. She focused her headphones, and turned the volume up. The entire sanctuary exploded into bits of dust, and there were two figures in the middle, where the temple's foyer had been.

Methyl was carrying an intricate blue spear, and her eyes were a cold, ice-blue. One of her ribbons was gone and around her were scorch-marks. Shin was ablaze in fire, and he floated a few inches off the ground. Aelia ran to his side, and growled at Methyl.

"What happened?" demanded Jimmy.

"Methyl turned on us," spat Vincent. "She'd been waiting all along for us to be separated from you. The temple is sound-proof; once she killed us she would take the Mirage Orb from you and be on her way. Plus, she said that the Slave-Holes were always in effect – so once the Squad or something gets here, then we're all booked to be working for the rest of our lives – even though we're not Earth siens."

Jimmy felt the blood in his veins freeze and proceed slowly back towards his heart. He had been wrong – Methyl had deceived him. Methyl would kill him. He felt cold and empty as Methyl shrieked, "You damn siens! You are all nothing in comparison to Water siens! And _you_!" Methyl glared at Matsuo. "Your blood is tainted with more than one weak element! You're a **disgrace**!"

Shin threw a barrage of fire bolts at Methyl. Her strange blue spear glowed an alien color (close to purple yet far from dark), and Shin's attacks disappeared in thin air. Not the type of disappearing as in it goes away in a cloud of smoke or it strikes something and _poof _is gone. This was more like just erased from reality – there wasn't any sign of light or any sound indicating what had happened.

"The Spear of Disappearance. Whatever I point at, its atoms and molecules are _erased _permanently – one of my better inventions," Methyl explained, her cruel eyes shining from pride. She turned to Shin. "You will go first, vile Fire sien."

Vincent ran forward despite his lame leg and slammed into Methyl. She tumbled to the ground and the Spear flew out of her grasp. She let out a hiss of rage and pushed Vincent off her. Vincent hit the wall, slid down, and didn't move for some time. Jimmy's feet were rooted to the ground. But something was stirring in his chest, he could feel it.

Matsuo sprinted forward and grabbed the Spear as Methyl did. They fought over it, and Shin threw a fire blast at them. The Spear was hit, and both girls jumped away from it as the heat spread to their fingers. The Spear clattered to the floor. Methyl recovered before Matsuo, and grabbed it. She pointed it at Vincent.

"_No_!" Jimmy yelled.

Vincent was erased, gone, and Jimmy would've missed it if he had blinked. But the churning in his chest had become a roar, and he lunged forward. Methyl smiled, a horrible smile, and pointed it at him.

Nothing happened.

Methyl's eyes widened in shock as Jimmy punched Methyl's stomach with his left hand. She reeled backwards, surprised. The Spear did not glow in his direction.

"Of course!" Matsuo yelled. She rushed forward and yanked Methyl's hair painfully while she was distracted. "Jimmy! Just block her attacks on us, okay? I'll explain later!"

Fazio flew into the battle as well, shooting little air tornadoes at Methyl. When Methyl was busy trying to dodge and neutralize Matsuo and Glaci's ice-shard attacks, she got stuck in the whirlwind and was tossed around while Matsuo froze it and tried to pry the Spear from Methyl's hands. But this was tough to do, since Methyl only had to point at the object she wanted to disappear.

Jimmy dashed in front of everyone, always protecting them when the Spear glowed in their direction. Dipole nervously flit around and bit Methyl's ear once when he had the chance. She yelped and chucked him across the room into a blue pot. Shin's anger died down when Vincent vanished (Jimmy guessed that they had been having a fight), and he began to hammer away at Methyl when she turned her back on him. Eventually, only David, who was hopelessly stuck in the smallest corner of the room, wasn't fighting.

Then, Matsuo finally got a hold of the Spear. She positioned it above her knee and snapped it easily in half. Some purple dust floated out from the middle, and Methyl yelled at her to leave her invention alone. Vincent appeared, (as did Shin's fire bolts and some spouts of water and air-arrows) as he slumped against the wall. The erased attacks struck Methyl from the sky. It was like looking at lightning that came from an invisible storm cloud. Methyl writhed and screamed in pain within the inferno.

That was when Jimmy surged forward, feeling something in his feet as he dashed over. He lashed out with a kick and found himself doing a flip in the air and kicking Methyl in the face. He landed on his hands, and the lightweight feeling faded. He unceremoniously landed on his bottom and Shin shot a Disable charm at Methyl. She tried to escape but Glaci blocked her, and she was hit in the back by Shin's charm, now immobile.

"Phew," Matsuo sighed, pulling Methyl roughly to her feet. Matsuo glared at her. "We'd best hurry up and get to the Chamber and get this over with. Then we don't have to deal with you, psycho, anymore."

"Hey, err, Matsuo?" Jimmy asked, rubbing the back of his head. He felt some of the static coming off of Methyl land on his clothing and he waved at it nervously.

"Yes, Jimmy?" asked Matsuo, suddenly very cheerful and knowledgeable.

"How come the Spear didn't affect me?"

"You were protected by the Mirage Orb. I have a theory," Matsuo explained, hoisting Methyl upwards as she tried to sit down. "Since Methyl created the Mirage Orb and the Spear, my guess is that it has her chakra signature on it. Thus, when she created the Spear, it was so-called _programmed _or memorized her signal and was created not to destroy _her _in case. We should try and use its powers again once we leave this town."

"It's too late," Methyl snickered. She nodded towards the doorway. Everyone turned. An army of housewives and men in overalls were at the entrance. Even Bingham was present. They glared, all carrying spears of their own, but theirs had sparks coming off the metal tips; electrical spears. "It's over for you – none of you will leave this town alive!"

Jimmy sat in his waiting cell. The villagers had dragged him there – it was an underwater jail, so to speak. If he looked up, he could see lazy fat fish swimming on by. One or two would drop in on his head and wake him up from his sleep. He knew Matsuo was kept in a lava-room – he had seen her get shoved into the magma room. It was magma boiling around a small peninsula of rock, and on it was one chair. Shin had been put in an Arctic room; there was a heavy metal door and only ice and snow inside. Vincent had just regained consciousness when they looked him in a Dark room; there were a few people already inside of it, wailing for their lives to be spared. David, miraculously, was given a plain white room with no food, water, or interaction. Just him in a straightjacket with a light-bulb to keep him company.

So why was he in the least torturous room? The water above his head was actually quite soothing and cast pretty patterns across the stone floor. Was it because whatever happened to him would happen to the Mirage Orb? The water above his head was immune to his powers, so he couldn't swim away. But he expected as much – he was in a Water Sien village after all.

Jimmy felt stupid. Methyl was going to steal his life forcefully. Why couldn't she wait for him to reach the Chamber? The Orb would be all hers. Maybe she didn't want anyone else knowing something…

Dipole, tucked away in his shirt, peeked his head out again. He gazed up at the glassy surface above their heads.

"Who knows how far underwater we are," Dipole said.

"Not past the Abyss," Jimmy replied hopefully. At least he could see sunlight streaming through the water. "Plus I've seen a few jellyfish. They go to the surface of water to eat plankton or something."

"You sure it's not algae?" Dipole asked.

"I give up," Jimmy groaned, lying back in the bed. He hated science. Actually, he hated school. He wondered if Alkali had any schools. He shuddered about attending one.

"What'd you do _this _time?"

Jimmy shot up out of bed. He flew upwards so quickly that his head went through the watery-ceiling. He couldn't breathe for a second, floating in mid-air until Notte pulled his ankle and he fell back onto his bed. He stared at Notte and Morita, who were staring at him with unamused expressions.

"Notte! M-Morita!" Jimmy cried out. He hugged the girls, happy that he was saved. "It was awful! Methyl turned on us, and now she's planning to make us work and dig up Aquamarine! Oh, what am I going to do…?"

"_You _dig up minerals?" Morita asked, aghast. "You're so puny!"

Jimmy dismissed Morita's word for his size. "No, see, Methyl's village capture Earth siens and make them dig up gems for their profit."

Morita's eyes became blazing rubies. "I'll kill them all."

"Absolutely not," Notte disagreed. She grasped Morita's arm and squeezed it. There was no physical effect but Morita turned to hear Notte. "Think about it. This is the only village that mines Aquamarines, and one of the toughest to boot. We could kill Alkali's economy by wiping this village out. Besides, it's _their_ custom – who are we to interfere upon it?"

Morita crossed her arms stubbornly and muttered a curse under her breath. Jimmy agreed with whatever she was saying.

"How did you guys get here?" inquired Dipole.

"We followed David's signal in case you ran into any problems," Morita explained. "We saw that there was a spike in adrenaline in his blood where Matsuo's tattoo is, so we tracked him down, only to find him in this…place. Then we found you."

Jimmy shuddered. "What are we going to do? Without the Chamber the Mirage Orb will explode! Surely even Methyl realizes this?"

"She won't care," Notte informed him. "There is a flaw in the Mirage Orb – I can't tell you what it is, however. But one thing is for certain – if it's attached itself to you, then it will only explode when you agree to it as well. So as long as you are calm and happy, the Mirage Orb won't blow us all up."

"Oh," Jimmy said softly. No wonder he got the nice room. "But how do we get out of here? I don't want Methyl to extract the Orb from my heart!"

"We'll create a minor distraction," Notte decided. She turned to Morita. They shared a quick conversation through their minds, and then Notte added, "Okay. Just stay in this room no matter what you hear and no matter what you see, okay? It'll all be fake. No matter WHAT, do you hear me? Only when you taste blood – and I mean, real blood, should you wake up. Got it?"

Jimmy nodded his head, not understanding.

Then Notte and Morita vanished.

Suddenly his peaceful room was smothered in a thick purple fog. He felt like he couldn't breathe. He heard people screaming from outside his room. They were pleading for help, for mercy. There was Vincent's voice; he was screaming so terribly. Jimmy bit his tongue. No blood – he should NOT go out of the room. But he was so sorely tempted. Then Shin let out a yell and there were dull thuds. Was he okay? But still the fog remained – he could NOT leave.

Matsuo's unearthly scream broke his concentration. He lunged for the wall where the door was supposed to be, and his fingers froze on the metal keyhole. He did not have a key. How did he suppose he could escape and help anyone? Then something heavy dropped into his pocket. He reached down and took out a small brass key. Without comparing the two, Jimmy knew it would fit. But he couldn't leave – or could he?

Were Notte and Morita really in his room? Was he dreaming? Were his friends really being tortured? Should he run outside only to find out that he was doomed by stepping out?

Then, something struck him across the face. He sat up, blinking quickly, and the taste of rusty blood reached his tongue. REAL blood. He gazed around him. The fog had lifted, and Notte was sitting next to him apologetically.

"Sorry, maybe I shouldn't have hit you so hard," she relented. "You very nearly ran out, by the way."

"Huh…what…?"

"It was a Fog-Dream Charm," Notte explained, shushing him. "Morita used it as a cover past the guards at your door. She's going to act as a slave and get Matsuo and the others' keys as a distraction. We got yours already just because it's a simple brass key that they left carelessly outside. The others' are more complicated and laden with spells, so they'll be harder to crack."

Jimmy rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. "Oh. But Morita…she doesn't exactly look like an Earth sien, more like a Fire."

"Well, she can prove them wrong," Notte said with a smile. Jimmy did not like that smile – it was filled with impending doom.

"So what do we do?" Jimmy asked instead.

"We are going to kill the guards," replied Notte. At Jimmy's horrified face, she waved her hand impatiently. "Oh, pshaw, if they're evil, they're evil, right? Besides, they'll just wake up in whatever mortal realm they come from without their powers and their minds wiped clean of anything sien-related."

Jimmy shuddered. He didn't want to die _here_. "So Morita distracts them and we kill them?" Jimmy asked.

"Yep," Notte agreed, flexing her white fingers. "Okay, just to give you a heads-up, you might want to stay on my left side, okay?"

"Umm… okay…" Jimmy scratched his head. Boy, Alkali was confusing.

Notte stood up and walked over to the door. She pulled a brass key from her pocket and jammed it into the lock. As the door swung open, Notte quickly stepped into the doorframe to cover the scene as the guards became dust. But Jimmy saw their severed heads, the guts spilling out of their tunics, the flames that danced around their body, changing them into strange golden dust, and their shocked wide eyes.

"What's the dust?" Jimmy asked, careful not to look at the guards as they disappeared. They had large wounds, he noted by the blood around his feet.

"It's their Being," replied Notte matter-of-factually. "It gets Erased from Alkali once they reach a certain age or stop Believing. Or when they're killed. It's kind of like a giant computer system – Alkali filters out the dead siens and wipes their atoms and molecules clean of their Essence, and makes sure they forget everything about siens and Alkali. We don't want 89-year-old people blowing up Jupiter, right? So it's just a precaution. Usually those with disabilities or a bad temperament get Erased before others. Those who are still here like Rebecca reflect a pure heart."

"Rebecca?"

"Oh, that's right, you don't know her," Notte said apologetically. "Rebecca is the oldest sien alive today, alive since the time of Jesus in human terms."

"Alive in the time of Jesus…" Jimmy repeated, astounded and awed at the same time. "Did she … meet him?"

"Who knows?" Notte chuckled, shrugging her shoulders. "But the guards have just returned to the mortal world. We should go wait by Matsuo's door; Morita will be there."

Notte briskly trotted off in the direction from which Jimmy had come. As they walked he took a closer look at their surroundings. Walls of dark soil were on both sides of them, and the cavern had light and almost claustrophobic air. But there was a certain chill to it; maybe it was the eternal darkness that hung over their heads. Jimmy guessed that they fell in from above – but it looked like a huge trench.

Notte followed his eyes. "You're underwater, remember?" she reminded him. "Haven't you studied plate tectonics? You know – where there are cracks in the crust? Well, that black stuff is the crack."

"Oh," Jimmy sighed, trying to make sense of her wording. He was only eleven, after all.

Notte jumped up into the air, and vanished into the darkness of the crack. Without warning, she pulled him up too. He frantically flailed about while a small tornado propelled him upwards. When he entered the darkness, he felt Notte sit him down on something. When he felt around he realized it was a force-field floor made out of air. He looked down, pressing his face against the new floor.

It was Morita. The change was odd – she wore a green tunic and her red eyes were concealed by a large green headband around her hair, which was tied in a giant braid. But Jimmy could tell it was Morita – no one else could look both fearful and intimidating at the same time. She must've gotten it from a storage closet and looked around for her size while killing Jimmy's guards. _Wow she's _**_quick_**, Jimmy thought. A guard appeared next to her.

"Where are you from?" he barked.

Jimmy recognized him as a villager Methyl had waved to. Were those waves secret messages? The man jabbed his pitchfork in Morita's side. She let out a yelp of pain and staggered away from him.

"Please, sir!" she cried out, "I'm lost! Where is the Water-Hybrid's room? Methyl – she has sent me to water her."

"Fine," the villager said, shoving the fork into his sash. Jimmy noticed it was a deep blue with something swirling around the middle. He stared at it and the Guardian stared back.

"What is that thing?" Jimmy whispered, indicating the man's Guardian. The villager began to lead Morita out of sight.

"That's a baby Tomehio," Notte explained, squinting to see in the dim lighting. "It appears to be a special Fish-species. But it shares the characteristics of a Tomehio…how interesting, I should add this to the Archives…"

The floor beneath them disappeared.

Jimmy slammed into the ground with a loud _crack_. He quickly looked up to see Morita and the guard turning around. He froze and kept absolutely still. Dipole was still with Notte, not realizing what had happened. Notte was still standing on air for some strange reason – and concentrating very hard on the ground around him.

In that one split second that he fell, the cloud of dust that rose from around his body coated him. The guard turned around, and saw nothing. He blinked, still saw no movement, and turned his back to Jimmy again. The sand instantly parted from his clothing and he sat up. He tested his limbs as Dipole came shooting down on him.

"The Tomehio heard us," whispered Dipole. Jimmy stared at the baby fox swimming around the front of the guard's belt. "It used a blast like Aelia's to make you fall."

Notte stepped down from the air on an invisible staircase. "Let's hurry," she said promptly.

Jimmy dusted himself off and charged after Notte. The poor guard didn't even see it coming. Notte's foot made contact with his neck as she jumped into the air. The force snapped it in half, and he crumpled to the ground. Jimmy had no idea what to do and resorted to focusing on Reimi, which was buzzing like crazy.

"Name: Notte

Classification: Air Sien/Avatar

Gender: Female

Special Abilities: Telepathic communications, teleportation, air-shields, air-charms of combat, air-charms of defense, air-charms of illusions, air-blasts, Avatar-Mode (tagged for further notice)

Physical Abilities: known for strong kicks and fast agility.

Avatar Mode: when an Avatar dies for every element they use which weakens them after using all of the elements. Usually the Avatar cannot control the power or remember what happened during this time period. This is the most powerful stage of a sien."

"Name: Morita Aiko

Classification: Fire Sien/Earth Sien

Gender: Female

Special Abilities: Telepathic communications, rock-shields, fire-tornados, fire-arrows, fire-bolts, fire-waves, fire-constriction, earth-mound, vine-bind, leaf-storm, fire wheel

Physical Abilities: deals powerful attacks from short range and prefers to use Earth as a defense and Fire as an offense."

Then, over the chaos, Reimi picked up something useful: "_Hidden Key located in the pitchfork. 3 enchantments: The Charm of Death, the Spell of Paralyzation, and the Charm of Melting. Handle with Air._"

"Finally!" Notte yelled, horrendously bashing the man's head into the wall. As he turned into dust, Notte and Morita pried the pitchfork from his fingers. Notte glared at the Tomehio floating around the guard's belt and it disappeared.

"Okay, Jimmy's loud Watch said we should handle it with Air," Morita said aloud. She handed the pitchfork to Notte. "And I'm surprised, Notte, you teleported the Tomehio away. Don't tell me you're scared of a baby Tomehio?"

Notte ran her fingers over the pitchfork, looking for something out of the ordinary, and ignoring Morita.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 13

**Chapter 14**

Shin woke up with a start. One moment he had been trying to pull Jimmy out from the white door and the next he was lying on a Chamber's floor. Memories shot into him – Methyl's confession, her death, and what Jimmy had just done. He looked desparately where Jimmy was standing – he was looking wide-eyed as the Mirage Orb floated in the light tranquilly. Shin smiled weakly and first thought, _it's finally over_.

But something wrong.

Jimmy was suddenly wracked by a sudden row of spasms. He coughed and sputtered, doubling over. Shin felt Aelia tap his shoulder and cock her ears curiously. She followed his gaze and only saw concern. _She didn't see Jimmy or what was happening_.

Shin got to his feet and ran up to Jimmy as fast as he could. But he knew that whatever he was seeing, only he could see it.

**You have returned me to my proper place**. A voice rang clear and loud through the entire Chamber. Shin stopped in his tracks. Suddenly, like ghosts, Notte, Morita, Matsuo, and Vincent slowly appeared beside him. Like mirages they wavered until they hit the ground, groaning beside Shin, who was forced to his knees by some unseen force.

"Methyl?" Jimmy whispered. His voice reverberated through the entire Chamber, loud enough for anyone to hear.

**Yes**, the voice said serenely. **Before you reach any unruly conclusions, please allow me to explain.**

**I have been living in the Mirage Orb since I have implanted my powers within you. I made you a Lexard to protect me – I have now taken it away as you have returned me here. I am as the prophecy states – the one who is the most mysterious yet not the least understandable. I have been with you since the beginning but mark the end. I am not the Methyl you have just vanquished – that is the Methyl who appears when I am removed from a Chamber. My opposite if you must. She knew that if you stabilized me, then she, a part of me, would be destroyed. So she created an illusion so that she could remove the Mirage Orb from your body within this Chamber. I have read her mind; she believed that within here, where it is our birthplace, you would be comfortable and the extraction would be easy. But you fought and you all created enchantments to protect each other. Eventually, she separately placed you from the others – and that was her gravest mistake.**

**There is more. Shin – he is the one who will change. Vincent – he is the one who had despised you at one point, but is one of your best allies. Matsuo – she was not mysteriously mentioned in this prophecy, even though she was a vital companion to you. She will be faced with her own prophecy soon. **

Jimmy took this in without moving. He had been wrong about _everything _– he probably wouldn't have ever guessed that such a possibility as this existed.

**But let us move on –**

**I'm afraid that I'm going to have to kill you, Jimmy.**

Jimmy stared at the floating Mirage Orb that sparkled as it talked. He nodded slowly, not completely understanding. "Why?"

**You have protected me well – and you have chosen to protect me and kill my opposite. Thus I shall return the favor. I will turn you into a mortal as you had wished before. **

"I did?" Jimmy asked, blinking tears away. He didn't want to die.

**It is not the Death of Dust, as you have seen**, the Mirage Orb interjected. Nobly, it explained, **I am going to just take away the powers I have gifted you. I am going to give my powers to another – one who is awake and behind you.**

Jimmy whirled around. When he saw Shin, he let out a breath of relief. He turned back to the Mirage Orb. "Yes. I will…die, then. I know that the Mirage Orb will be in good hands if it's left with Shin."

"What? Wait, _what_?" Shin struggled to his feet. He staggered to Jimmy and shook him like a Ragdoll. "Are you crazy? You're going to take away your own life just to put it in _my _hands? Oh yeah – the world is _definitely _safe…"

"You'll take good care of it," Jimmy assured Shin. He took Shin's hand and squeezed it. He added, "You know, the first time I met you, I was scared. Now I'm confident. Besides, the Mirage Orb says that you will change according to the Prophecy. It is meant to be."

"I have barely known you for a week and you're dying," Shin said, gripping Jimmy's hand. "You can't seriously think that I'm going to give up on losing one of my friends, are you? That wouldn't be right."

**It's time to go**.

Jimmy was pulled into the light mysteriously – Shin couldn't grip his fingers as he moved. "Good-bye!" Jimmy shouted, disappearing into the light. Shin was appalled – in nearly a minute he had lost a good friend. What was Dipole going to do?

**Shin Asuka**.

Shin jumped as the Mirage Orb addressed him. **I realize that you are not in a good condition, but now it must be done. Do you accept your duty as the Mirage Sien, protecting me from all that is evil?**

Shin swallowed the fear in his throat. What if he wasn't good enough? What if he failed? What if he too died like Jimmy? No…Jimmy had wanted him to take this job. He could do it. He _had _to do it.

"I do accept," Shin answered. He braced his feet apart and tensed for it. The ground shook and the Mirage Orb boomed,** So be it! I now invest my powers in you, Shin Asuka. If you die so does Alkali – I suggest that you savor what moments you have left of mortality.**

Shin didn't even have time to breathe. First came a blast of air; it left him gasping and blue in the face. Next came fire; it burned through his organs, leaving him screaming and the flames hissed against his skin. Next came earth; stones pummeled into his stomach, invisible and yet too real. Last came water; it lapped up against his skin soothingly, healing all of his pain until a sharp pain shot through his entire body. His blood, it was freezing up, his heart was surrounded by cold spikes –

But it calmed down suddenly. Shin felt more powerful than ever as he gazed down upon the bodies of his friends. Were they still his friends? Yes. Even Vincent, his rival, was his friend in some way. As Shin looked over the bodies, he noticed that David was missing.

_Oh well_, Shin thought, bemused. _If he died then he died. _But the same could not be said for Jimmy.

Notte sat up first, followed by Morita. They looked around in confusion and then they teleported away. They didn't see Shin – he wondered why. Next Vincent woke up. He rubbed his eyes and looked around curiously. His eyes swept right over Shin.

What was going on around here?

Shin walked up to Vincent and poked him hard in the chest. Vincent reeled back in surprise. "What the…?"

"Vincent, I'm right here," Shin barked irritably. "We're in the Water Chamber."

"Good Zepetiyah, Shin, where are you?" Vincent called out, peering right through Shin.

_He should see me_! Shin thought angrily. As this thought went through his mind, Vincent jumped back and let out a little scream.

"Shin! Where did you come from?" he yelled. "I didn't feel you in front of me."

**That, my friends, is the power of a Mirage Sien**. **Shin Asuka is blessed as the only Mirage Sien on Alkali – and that means that he can create illusions beyond the mind's imagination, all at his disposal and wish. I would be careful with your tongue, Vincent Graves.**

"The ball of light is talking to _me_?" Vincent asked, indicating the floating Mirage Orb.

**Yes, the ball of light is speaking to you. Now please listen, Mr. Graves. Unfortunately, I have just opened a passageway for Jimmy to go to the mortal world, where he truly belongs. You see – he is a … mistake.**

"Mistake?" repeated Fazio, waking up a bit more. "What do you mean?"

**I am a direct descendent of Zepetiyah and his godly powers – I know that we are in need of more siens, and our Lord Zepetiyah knew that I would look after him. Instead, found by you, Mister Asuka, I became weak and detached. When I split my soul to form with another's as a host, Methyl was created – the other me. You, Mister Asuka, carried me around and I was feeding off your will power and Being in order to stay alive. In the meanwhile, the other Me looked for me, hoping to use my powers to complete Itself – to manifest itself with evil using my/its own powers. Now stay with me, as confusing as this is.**

**Then I met Jimmy. When I was living in his heart, I realized he was more than adequate, with a just heart and a good mind. It was then that I discovered he was recently chosen by Zepetiyah to become a sien – by accident. His sister, Clarice, was to be the sien. Instead, since they sleep in the same room, Zepetiyah bestowed Jimmy with her incredible gift of Earth. It did not suit him when you first met him, yes?**

"Agreed," Vincent and Shin said in unison.

**Anyways. As he was a mistake, I wondered if he was the one who would return me to my former glory – and he has. But as I have become forever dependent on sharing my powers as I was created, I have given half to Master Shin Asuka, Alkali's New Mirage Sien.**

**Of course, for all of his help, Jimmy was always thinking of others. He never truly thought about himself. In his heart he did not want to be a sien – he wanted to be with you, yes – Vincent, Shin, Notte, Morita, Matsuo, even David – but he also knew that it could not be so. He was just so different. So I have helped him return to Earth to complete his former life. But the only way to guarantee that he goes back to Earth without Alkali's adventures is if both of you give up something powerful.**

"What? Why us?" Aelia demanded, her eyes flashing.

**The others have given theirs up – Notte has given up her compassion towards being so carefree. At heart she will always be happy and bright but she will never truly feel as if everything is her fault. Morita has given up her courage in some ways – now whenever there is danger she would rather run away from it than fight it off. Only if she knows that it is important will she fight – but if not, then her newfound fear will take her. Matsuo has given up her Earth element – it may seem strange, but it was Methyl who in fact absorbed all of the powers from EJE, thus creating a massive illusion of a town that she "came from", which was indeed this Chamber the entire time. And now you two will give up something.**

Vincent and Shin sat in silence. Neither were quite sure what to give up. Neither were quite sure what would be appropriate for Jimmy's safe passage. Both were very sure that they had to give up _something_.

"I've got it!" Vincent said suddenly, beaming. "I give up my memories of this entire adventure so that…well, that's a large thing, right? Memories, I mean – it's one of the most priceless things in the world. So can mine cover two things for Jimmy?"

**…That will work. Yes, you may grant Jimmy two things.**

"Then I grant him safe passage to Earth and for him to keep Reimi on Earth," Vincent said with a smile.

**…That is against Alkali Law. I cannot grant such a request. But…I suppose if you are giving up so many memories, then yes, I can do this. You will be escorted out.**

Vincent bowed to Shin and stuck out his tongue as he lifted into the air, Fazio following anxiously. "Top that, Shin!"

As he disappeared, Shin turned slowly to the Mirage Orb. Something powerful…what did he want to give Jimmy? He knew that granting Jimmy his memories of Alkali was beyond possible. So he did the next best thing. "I give up nothing for Jimmy," breathed Shin, keeping his voice low and even.

The Mirage Orb blinked in what could be described as astonishment. **Nothing? **

"Nothing."

**And why nothing, Master Shin Asuka?**

"Because I know that he will be happy on Earth and there's nothing more I can give him."

The Mirage Orb bounced about in its ray of light excitedly. **Yes – that is more than enough. You have given him your trust – and that is something that transverses time and space. Is there something you would like him to have?**

Shin thought for a second. Then, he knew exactly what he wanted to do. "Is it possible for you to send Guardians to Earth?"

Jimmy sat up in bed. He looked around his room without interest. There was his wooden writing desk shoved against the far corner and the door crammed behind it. There was the open window from last night, still fluttering open. There was his sister, Clarice, still asleep in bed. Her black hair covered most of her rosy features.

Jimmy slipped out of his blue bed and looked out the window. The morning mist greeted him and the sun tickled his chin. His face screwed up when he realized that he wasn't wearing his glasses. He approached his bed-stand and rummaged around the drawer blindly until he felt the frame of his glasses. He shoved them on his face and then looked out the window again.

This time he could see all of the white houses lining the block with their neat gardens and their perfectly trimmed trees. He could see the sun's rays over the rim of the roofs and the last few animals sneaking back into their homes. Jimmy could see a car or two pass by on the street; probably police.

Jimmy looked back at the desk pushed up against the door. He remembered last night – how he had yelled at his parents because he had failed a math exam. Clarice had been terrified when he moved the desk there. But she fell asleep quickly, being only eight.

But although Jimmy could remember all of this, he could not figure out why there was a watch attached to his wrist. He tried to pry it off, but it refused to budge. It looked almost like it was glued to his skin. He began to worry if he was going crazy. He fiddled with the buttons and yelled in surprise as the screen popped up and the keyboard appeared.

Why couldn't he remember where this came from?

Clarice groaned and opened one blue eye. "Jimmy, what's wrong?" she asked, yawning. "It's only four in the morning. What are we doing?"

"Clair, do remember where this came from?" Jimmy asked instead, showing her the watch.

Clarice stared at it and shook her black curls. "No. Did you wake up with that?"

"Yeah," Jimmy said, puzzling over it again. He touched the screen curiously. A picture enlarged itself from the screen and projected itself on the bare wall over Clarice's head. Clarice let out a little scream, but Jimmy was staring at the photo intensely. It showed a white-haired girl with red eyes and a red hoodie. She was patting his head. The girl next to him wore a dark purple dress – she too had red eyes but long black hair. She was looking the other way, at a blue haired girl, who was smiling sweetly with cerulean eyes. There was a boy in the background – his hair appeared to be white, but Jimmy saw some odd flecks of orange and green in them. There was another boy on the white-haired girl's side; he was shorter than the rest of them, and he was grinning.

_Who are these people_? Jimmy thought. His eyes locked on the center boy – him. But it couldn't have been him. It looked exactly like him, rather, but he was wearing a weird green tunic. And there was something weird sitting on his shoulder…

"Nice drawing, Jimmy," Clarice piped up, snapping Jimmy out of his thoughts. "Are you entering that thing in the Science Fair or something?"

"No," Jimmy said immediately, but he didn't know why. He could instantly win 1st prize if he entered the watch. But his heart was telling him not to. He wondered why.

"Well I'm going back to sleep now, okay?" Clarice said, watching his face carefully.

"Yeah…yeah…" Jimmy said. Soon after Clarice was sleeping soundly in her bed again. The picture faded away and was replaced by another one. It was weird – like looking into a room full of blue ice. There was a captivating yellow light in the middle that looked like pure sunlight…Jimmy pressed his nose against the wall, staring at the picture.

"I'm going crazy," Jimmy announced finally, sidling back into his bed. "I might as well go back to sleep and technically wake up. This is just so weird…"

He closed his eyes, and realized with a jolt of stupidity, that he was still wearing his glasses. He made a move to take them off and saw something out of the corner of his eye. There! By his window. Was that a flash of color?

Jimmy quietly sat up and inched his way to the window. Then, he snatched whatever was hiding under his window sill. To his relief, it wasn't feathery, so he hadn't just nabbed a bird. He brought the animal to his face. It was an odd thing; a white dove with green eyes and a blue streak on the tips of its wings.

"Jimmy Blazer?" the dove asked, apparently unaffected after being grabbed by the neck under a windowsill.

Jimmy nearly threw it on the ground. The dove was talking to him. The worst part was that he knew he couldn't be dreaming. Everything was too real. The bird in his hand was real – so he might as well answer it, right?

"Yeah, that's me."

"Well, you have quite a bit of mail, Jimmy," the dove said, diving into the blue space in its feathers. Jimmy stared at it as it took out five small squares, the size of beans. "There you go sir, have a good day."

It saluted to Jimmy and then flew out the window. Jimmy, still holding the five beans (that he suspected were droppings), and scanned the sky for the bird. It had somehow vanished. Mysteriously, he opened his hand. The five beans shuddered for a bit, as if they were eggs about to hatch. Jimmy laid them out on his bed, watching them curiously. Then, they exploded with a loud _crack_ like a firework in his own room.

Clarice sat up straight like a bullet and looked around in panic for Jimmy. "Jimmy! Jimmy! Did you just fire a gun?" she yelled, jumping out of bed. Jimmy heard his parents pounding on the door, asking the same questions.

Instead, he stared at the four letters in amazement. Where there had been beans were papers – and the fifth parcel was a small box, the size of a dictionary. Clarice looked over his shoulder, and stifled another gasp.

"Where did those come from?" she demanded eagerly.

"You're dreaming," Jimmy assured her. "Trust me. Go back to sleep."

"Oh yeah? Prove it!" Clarice said, crossing her arms stubbornly.

Jimmy smiled evilly. In a dark and cruel voice he murmured, "Oh no…it's taking over…the Phantoms…"

Clarice let out a terrified squeal and raced under the covers. She hated ghosts and Jimmy had the best/most terrifying impersonation of a medium. Jimmy turned back to his letters. He picked up the first, which was written in red ink on white paper:

_Dear Jimmy,_

_I hope you are well and enjoying Earth. Things are going well where we are right now. We are not allowed to tell you. The carrier pigeon that brought you this letter is named Hyde, so whenever you have mail, just yell for Hyde. I think he should come to you since you were one of us._

_--Notte_

Jimmy read the letter twice. None of it made sense. Who the hell was Notte, and why was he/she writing to him? Or was it an It, like an alien from another planet? Notte had mentioned "Earth", not "home." He wondered if he too was dreaming. He picked up a parchment with green ink and larger handwriting. The paper was a dull red, as if it were meant to remind him of something.

_Jimmy:_

_Hope that life is normal for you. Hope to see you in your dreams sometime. Don't get into trouble. We'll find you again, okay? _

_- Morita_

Another puzzler. Morita was a girl's name; he wasn't exactly the smartest boy around. Besides, he didn't know any girls named Morita. The third letter looked more promising; it was written in black ink and on white paper. It seemed normal enough.

_Jimmy! _

_Matsuo is about to embark on her prophecy, according to the Mirage Orb, but I'm not allowed to tell you this. Notte and Morita are already on their way to tracking you down by Reimi's signal. It's okay if you don't know what that means yet. It'll make sense soon. See, your powers are…this is too confusing. Just wait it out, and I hope that you'll even meet Vincent some day, except that Vince also gave up his memories…_

_From,_

_Shin_

Shin? Who was Shin? Wasn't a shin something around your leg? Jimmy shook his out, in case they decided to talk. They stayed silent. A chill went up his spine. He reread "Shin's" letter; it said that Notte and Morita were on their way to tracking him down. Did that mean he was about to be kidnapped? And what was Reimi? Was Reimi the fifth parcel? Maybe he should throw it out…?

Jimmy didn't realize that he had picked up the fourth letter until he read it.

_Dear Jimmy,_

_We forgot to tell you something important. If anything weird happens to Clarice, don't worry about it. It's only natural, okay? And if she tells you about a strange island with mystical powers, then ask her to say hi to us, okay?_

_Thanks!! _

_Matsuo, Notte, Morita, Shin, and I guess Vincent if he remembered J_

Jimmy looked at Clarice quickly, making sure that nothing "odd" was happening to her. Nope – nothing. Maybe it was a prank? But that wouldn't explain the dove or the watch stuck to his wrist. That reminded him – the watch didn't show a time. Instead it was mostly a beeping thing like some sort of a radar. What could that mean? In the middle of it was a yellow dot labeled JIMMY. Jimmy shuddered. How creepy – this thing knew his name.

Then the watch started beeping frantically. Jimmy looked at in wonder as two more dots appeared on the screen. One was purple and the other was red. They were labeled NOTTE and MORITA respectively.

Jimmy was so fascinated that it took him a second to process what was happening. The dots were closing in on him very quickly – covering what would be forty pixels a blink. That was inhuman. The screen, still projected on Clarice's wall, started to get smaller as the distance they crossed became larger and more hurried. Jimmy quickly calculated how fast they were going – mach 2, maybe? No, mach 3 now –

That's when he felt the tapping on his window. He turned around, agape, and saw the white-haired girl beaming at him. She made motions for him to open up the window. Jimmy would certainly do no such thing. She didn't look like a mass murderer or a kidnapper, but the red eyes were freaky.

Jimmy huddled on his bed, trying to cram into the corner parallel to the window so she couldn't see him. She had other ideas. Suddenly his window smashed open, and he jumped in fright. They really were going to kidnap him. Clarice didn't even stir. The girl stepped into his room – she was taller than Jimmy thought. Then the dark girl hopped in, casting a wary eye at him.

"Hey Jimmy," the white girl said slowly, "Do you recognize us?"

"Recognize you?" repeated Jimmy. His eyes widened. "I have no idea what you're doing. Please don't kidnap me!"

"He thinks we're going to kidnap him…" the dark girl said, bemused. The two girls laughed. "My name is Morita, and this is Notte. Surely that must ring a bell?"

It did ring something – Jimmy felt like he knew these girls. But he couldn't understand where. He knew them from the picture, yes – but who were those other people?

"What did you mean…Notte…in your letter? You said that … you can't tell me something," Jimmy said, bulking up his courage. "I demand to know what."

"We can't," Notte said sadly. But then she perked up. "We don't need to. We're going to cheat, actually."

"Cheat?" Jimmy asked sharply. Still Clarice didn't wake up. He realized that she wasn't even breathing – the air outside was still and particles of dust hung in the air.

"We're not allowed to bring you back to Alkali because you wanted to be mortal," explained Morita irritably. "We're only permitted to be here because Notte is an Avatar and she convinced the Gate-Guards that this would affect no one. So – we're going to give you your memories back in the very least."

"My…memories?" Jimmy repeated, on the brink of insanity. "I don't get you. I just met you people!"

"You lie to yourself," Notte assured him. She pointed to the fifth parcel. "Go on – open it. Everything will become clear in a moment."

_What does that mean_? Jimmy thought. But he couldn't resist opening the white box – it was laced with glowing patterns that danced across the sides. Suddenly he was nervous; what exactly was this thing? Unwillingly, his hands opened the box.

It was something green and covered in leaves. It had keen brown eyes and the body of a sprite. It had delicate wings made out of maple-leaves, and had the body of cut stones. It blinked up at him curiously, and then walked right out of the box. It fluttered its wings, attempting to fly.

"What is it?" Jimmy breathed.

"That's an Earth Wusyl," answered Notte, smiling kindly at him. "This should be enough to trigger a few memories."

It did – flashes of moments flew by Jimmy in his mind. There was a strange earth-like chamber and he was being beaten by some invisible force; there was a black-haired girl with astonishing speed and a deadly fire-sword; there was the blue-haired boy, dancing around a forest… but it passed so quickly and left Jimmy speechless. He turned to Notte and Morita, probing them with his eyes. They were definitely different from him – what were they? Gods? His imagination? Or real people?

"I…don't understand," Jimmy said sadly. It broke his heart to say such words – he wanted to know. Something was so familiar about them. Notte and Morita looked upon him in pity.

"We know," Morita replied. "We just came to say thank you for all that you have done for us. You may not know it, but in another world, you have saved us – you, yes, you, Jimmy Blazer."

"Like a parallel dimension?" asked Jimmy.

"No," Notte said a little sharply. She seemed deeply offended by this comment so Jimmy didn't ask anymore questions as she explained. "It is an island on Earth and yet an island on every other universe, called Alkali. It holds the elemental territories. You have saved it from destruction – but that is the most we can tell you. Please take care of this Wusyl – no one will see him unless _you_ will it to be so."

Jimmy peered at the Wusyl, which had crawled promptly into his hand. It was cute in a way, he had to admit. "Does it have a name?" he queried, prodding it in the stomach. It rolled over and played with his hand like a small kitten.

Notte smiled. "I suppose I can tell you that much. Its name is Gwen; it's the daughter of a good friend of yours."

"Really?" Jimmy asked. He lifted Gwen out of his hand and looked at her. She beamed at him and kissed his nose. "Oh! Wait! Before you go – umm…this watch…?"

"Yes, it's from your adventures in Alkali," Notte assured him, grinning. "I'm sorry that we must leave now. We'll visit as often as we can. Promise!"

With that, the two girls vanished just as time lapsed back into its normal pace.

The wind outside blew Jimmy's curtains in circles and Clarice's bed-sheets moved as she breathed heavily.

But he knew they had been here. It was just as real as the Wusyl in his hand and the watch on his wrist. _I'll figure this out one day_, he thought to himself. _I'll learn all about Alkali and what I did. One day I'll know it all._


	15. Chapter 15 and Epilogue

Chapter 13

**Chapter 15**

Vincent

Vincent sat idly on the top of a cloud spire, overlooking the Air Territory. His feet were immensely tired and Fazio was out foraging for food. He wondered if there was something more in life than just looking around for people to best. His training was one of the best of the Air Siens, and he could be considered a formidable foe if not for his scrawny height.

Vincent, to be honest, wanted a rival. He wanted to fight someone and yet be their friend as to go on adventures together. When he thought hard he remembered having such a rival – but his face was blurred and what adventure they went on was a mystery to Vincent. He lay back on the spire and watched the stars in the sky.

He loved the stars on Alkali. Here they merged Earth-stars with all the other universe's stars. Some were much brighter than others, and the sky was a light purple. He heard wings alight beside him. Fazio held a bag of food in her right hand and Hyde in her left.

"Message for you, Vincent," she said, handing him Hyde the white dove. "For food all I could get were some cupcakes, three bananas, and an apple."

Vincent ignored his choices of food and accepted the letter from the dove. As it flew away against the sky, Vincent thought it looked just like a moving star. He assumed this was a good omen. He opened the letter.

_I hope you're okay and doing well._

_Your Rival, Shin_

Vincent rolled the Post-It in his hand. It was curled on one end and there were erase marks all over the back. He wondered who Shin was. But now was not the time to think.

He dug into the bag and drew out a cupcake. He ate it while watching the sky. Something shot across the sky – was it a Sien? He thought it was – it looked like a shining person. But just who could it have been?

As he finished his cupcake he peered down at the ground. The tower was shaking a little, too. There was a girl – dressed in blue – and she was leaving the tower. Vincent shrugged his shoulders. She was pretty but even he knew that she was a Water Sien. She could probably freeze his blood.

Vincent watched the sky again for that blazing person. There he was again – only this time Vincent, for some odd reason, knew exactly who it was, and why he was circling the Air Territory.

Vincent waved his arms around and yelled, "Shin! I'm over here!"

Michiyo

Michiyo cleaned the floor of the giant meteorite. There were shards of glass everywhere and dust flying about the room. She used some plants to clean up the mess, but she didn't want to hurt anything so she had to do most of it herself. None of the other siens were brave enough to even go near the glass. It wasn't exactly natural.

As she fussed over a large piece of glass the size of someone's head, a dove flew in. It pecked her on the back and dropped a letter on the ground. Cursing, Michiyo read the letter. Then, she smiled. She dropped the broom and swept out of the room. She barked at the two nearest Earth siens, "You two! Go clean up my room – and no disagreements! NOW!"

As they hurried to do her bidding, Michiyo quickened her step. The letter was still pressed against her side, its words giving her strength and speed.

_The Council of Elders has claimed that you are in a Prophecy. Please halt all other activities and finish yours._

Shin

Shin and Aelia found Vincent on Matsuo's tower, although he probably didn't know it.

"Vincent!" Shin called out in relief, landing next to him with some sparks. Vincent leaped back to give him room. Shin was a little disappointed – Vincent's curious eyes held no recognition of him. But he had known his name, right? Aelia deftly climbed up the tower by digging her fingers into the soft clouds. She pulled herself up like a champion rock-climber and washed her ears at the top.

"You're…Shin?" Vincent asked slowly.

Shin nodded aggressively. "Yes, that's right, and you're Vincent. But that's not the reason why I'm here. You see, it's been one month since we've seen Jimmy."

"Jimmy…?" Vincent fought hard against the barrier in his mind to figure out who Jimmy was. Instantly he saw a face – a boy who was barely taller than him with round brown eyes, glasses, and scraggly black hair. He didn't look too coordinated either.

"We're all going to visit him," Shin informed Vincent. "That's the reason why I'm telling you. We're not allowed to tell you or him about what we did, but I'm the only Mirage Sien, and I'm pretty sure I can fool plenty of Gate-Guards."

"WH-what? You mean this Jimmy is a mortal? But I haven't met any mortals!"

"He used to be one of us," Shin murmured. "But let's go. We have to find Notte and Morita. I looked up Matsuo on the Archives and it says she's about to start a prophecy, and that she must start in the Water Territory so asking her would be too much."

"Notte is an Avatar, right?" Vincent asked curiously. Shin turned into a blazing fireball and lifted off the tower. Vincent followed him, floating slowly. Fazio earnestly flapped her wings and zoomed around him like a dancing dragonfly. Aelia groaned and jumped onto Shin's back. Shin fell a little bit from the extra weight but then continued to fly for the Council of Elders' Chamber.

"Yeah," Shin said, his eyes misting over. "We all went on a little adventure to save Alkali together. Gyah, what am I saying? Let's hurry!"

Notte

"So much work!" Notte yelled, throwing several papers on the floor. Morita dove to salvage some of it as Notte continued to throw a fit. "We have so much work piled up and I'm still not even half-way done trying to figure out what to tell Jimmy! It's been so long since we've seen him…"

"Why are we visiting Jimmy?" queried Morita, picking up as many papers as she could and laying them on the desk. She got ready for Notte to hit them again.

"Because we miss him as a friend, and unlike in some cases, we actually KNOW where he is."

Notte picked up a paper on the desk. "Now look for a mission that has Destination: Earth on it. I can use that excuse to do my mission and yet give Jimmy his immortal memories back. That's the least _we _as _friends _can do for him."

"I guess," Morita agreed. She shifted through the papers. "I found one, but it's pretty extreme – it says to 'please build cleaner subway systems all over the world.' I doubt that we could even attempt to do this job alone."

"Why do people even bother with this crap?" Notte groaned. Lysuw, her Wusyl, held out a small cell phone. It vibrated in his hand. Notte grabbed it and muttered, "Hello?" Then her face immediately brightened. Morita read her mind –

"_Notte? This is Shin_."

_Oh my Zepetiyah, it's Shin, which can only mean…_

"_You killed the Mirage Orb spirit?!"_

_"It was the only way!!" he sounds guilty. "The Orb fought pretty hard but I had its powers and eventually it just exploded. I thought Alkali was done for at that point, but I have it – Jimmy and Vincent's memories! We can make them remember – all we need to do is get Jimmy to willingly accept it."_

_"What? He needs to willingly accept it?"_

_"It's the only way it'll work. I just implanted Vincent's; he flew after me when I put it in, and he fought so it nearly disappeared. Luckily I convinced him it was jell-o so he ate it."_

_"Jimmy has to EAT his memories?"_

_"No, it just has to go inside his body. So either he eats it or we shove it into his forehead. Can you and Morita meet us at the Gates in less than an hour?"_

_"DAMN, I'll be there in five minutes_!!_"_

Notte grabbed Morita's hand and said eagerly, "Let's _go_!"

Vincent

Vincent tried to clear his head and understand the rush of memories coming at him. He glared at Shin who just stopped talking on his cell phone.

"There's a signal here?" he asked, trying to sound casual. He knew that Shin was his rival, but – he didn't know just why yet. He was still absorbing the fact that someone like him had lost his memories.

"Can you believe that?" Shin snorted, making his way for the Guard-Gates. Those were Water siens who skirted the outside of Alkali, ready to flip it over in case a life form drew close. "Talk about nice coverage."

Shin landed on the water, creating silent ripples across the waves. Vincent floated a few inches over the lapping crests, and Fazio peered into the water. When a wave smashed down on her head she zoomed far above them, straying far from the water.

"Misiya, we're going out to _Earth_ okay?" Shin yelled. Vincent didn't realize it but most of the water siens that were Gate-Guards had a disability. It was the reason they were so good – where one could not hear, they had excellent eye-sight. When one could not see, they had amazing hearing. They all supported each other – there were, in fact, five Gate-Guards in all. Misiya was the most friendly and complacent, but she was deaf.

Misiya was a good friend of Tomeka's in fact, so without even listening to Shin she waved them through. Shin gratefully went by her; Vincent followed him, not processing why they didn't speak to each other and respectfully held the silence. Aelia had to admit that she was surprised at this moment – Vincent never passed up an opportunity to speak.

Michiyo

"Matsuo, are you done packing yet?" Michiyo asked impatiently. She tapped her foot, waiting outside Matsuo's Water Territory home. She attracted a lot of stares being the Earth Territory's Clan Leader, but she made faces at them if they stared long enough. She had a staring contest with one young boy with fierce blue eyes. After three minutes of refusing to blink, the boy gave up and wiped his eyes.

At that moment Matsuo returned from her home. Her blue hair had been tied into a neat ponytail and she wore humble green and brown clothing. "Wow, where did you get there?" Michiyo couldn't help but ask, grinning. "It seems like something _my _village would wear."

"I did _have _an Earth element, you know," Matsuo said, smiling good-naturedly. This brought back an uncalled for batch of memories; being in EJE, rescuing Methyl who turned out to be evil… if she thought long and hard about it, she barely remembered what happened after Jimmy got sucked into David's room. She wondered what happened to them. But she pushed that thought away sadly – the Council of Elders had just confirmed her fears. She was now on another Prophecy.

"We'd better get a move on," Matsuo said hurriedly. "We don't want to be late. But, err; do you have any idea where we're supposed to be going for our Prophecy?"

"No clue!" Michiyo exclaimed, giving her friend a thumbs-up. "It wouldn't hurt to take a break from your duties now and then, you know. Go see Jimmy-kun."

"Oh…how did you know I was worried?" Matsuo asked, smiling a bit in relief.

"I know you well enough, Matsuo," Michiyo snorted, rolling her eyes. "Go on – if you do this adventure now, you may never get the chance to say good-bye to anyone. So might as well do it before it starts, right?"

Matsuo wiped away a few tears and nodded blearily in agreement. "You're right. I'm going to lock onto Reimi's signal _right _now then!"

"You mean you have no idea where he is?" Michiyo queried with a sharp intake of breath. She was mortified.

"Umm…" Glaci's brow furrowed in concentration. Then, small sparks of orange came out of Glaci's jewel. "Huh. That's interesting. Reimi is functional, but according to the signal I'm getting from Jimmy's chakra, he's…well…"

Matsuo froze up. "He's not dead, is he?"

"No, but … maybe dead would've been better," Glaci sighed. "Jimmy appears to have no chakra at all. That could only mean…he's been turned into a mortal again."

Matsuo squeezed her hands together. "So he's forgotten all about Alkali – about Shin, about Notte, Morita, Vincent, me, and all the people he has met on this journey."

Michiyo sensed that Matsuo was unhappy – there were practically dark rain clouds over her head. But then Matsuo lifted her head, and it was the picture of complete trust and determination. "No. He would not have forgotten everything. But I will leave him to figure out the missing pieces on his own. If the others are smart they will let him do it on his own."

Matsuo trudged forward, Glaci padding after her obediently. Michiyo shrugged and followed her friend out of the village. It wasn't a big deal for her anyways. All Jimmy had been to her was the guy who shattered her room's glass.

Shin

Shin and Vincent walked through Manhattan slowly. They blended in perfectly – although no one else would've noticed them as they were invisible. Vincent enjoyed poking random businessmen and watching their bored yet concerned expressions as they were poked. Notte and Morita, who had caught up to them as they were passing over Maryland, were familiar around New York and instructed them on which trains to take in order to reach Jimmy. As they rode the subway, Shin couldn't help but notice that Fazio and Aelia were strangely quiet. He leaned against the seat away from Vincent, who was humming a foreign tune.

"What's wrong?" Shin whispered, keeping his voice low and easily mistaken for the wind. The illusion worked – none of the men near them even flinched. But Shin wanted to be careful with his new mirage powers – you never know how much juice you have until you run out. And Shin didn't want to run out in the heart of New York.

"Nothing!" Fazio said quickly – a little too quickly and loudly. The man next to her jumped but then continued to snore. Her face was fake and full of disappointment. "Okay, maybe Aelia and I are just a little nervous."

Shin cocked an eyebrow. "Well!" Aelia interrupted, trying to save her fellow Guardian's purpose, "See, we loved having Jimmy around. But … has he changed?"

Shin bristled with shock. "Why, of course, right? He's still the same person, whatever he does! I'm sure he still … does whatever he does."

But Shin's bleak attempt at reassuring them made it worse. Aelia and Fazio fidgeted the entire time. Shin cast his glance over at Notte and Morita. They were playing Chopsticks…he noticed that Morita always won.

Finally, they got off at a stop. Notte and Morita had them run through half of the security around this station; even Fazio, who had never been outside of EJE for most of her life, recognized it as a popular neighborhood. After a lot of running around, Notte and Morita finally stopped at one house.

Notte

In Notte's opinion, the house hadn't changed much. It was still a small brick-house with a few windows and tacky flower curtains. There were red flowers on the first floor's windowsill and the black gate leading to the garage was still bent a little bit in the middle. The door had a small dent in it, and one of the wooden pillars had a clover sticker on it. Vincent was fascinated with it for some time before he realized that it was a sticker and not a holographic painting.

Notte tapped the door and whispered, "_Door of Earth, open for the Avatar_." It swung open, and before the alarm could go off, Morita stepped quickly inside and froze Time. Then, she muttered, "_Technology of Human Mortals, disarm for a fellow Fire_." As the Frozen-Time spell wore off, the alarm and lights remained off. Satisfied, the girls let the boys in.

It was a quaint and yet messy room. There was a giant piano up against the staircase and to the right was a living room. It had a flower-print carpet with a lot of different couches from different styles and possibly time periods. The dining room had more class to it, mostly looking like a modern table with a fancy chandelier above it. But Notte and Morita herded Shin and Vincent upstairs.

It was a small floor. Notte walked up to the last door in the hallway – on it hung a picture of Mother Goose and _Jimmy _and _Clarice _printed in bold letters under her wing. Notte opened the door.

Jimmy

Jimmy was sitting at his desk, back in its rightful position. He was finishing his homework when the door opened.

Reimi flashed uncontrollably and nearly gave him a heart attack. He looked up, surprised, and saw the shock of his life.

It had been six months since Jimmy had last seen Notte and Morita. At that time he had assumed it was a weird dream. But he still had Reimi, which never failed to give him answers on a test he didn't study for, and he still had Gwen, who was nearly an adult already.

Jimmy had kept his promise to Notte and Morita those six months ago, however – when Clarice started to show an interest in plants, he encouraged it. When she told him one day that the plants talked to her and let her control what they did, he helped her control them. He felt, sometimes, that it was familiar in some way, but he couldn't name how.

That was _before _Shin, Vincent, Notte, Morita, Aelia and Fazio jumped on him and gave him a group hug.

He lay on the ground, sprawled out on his back as they all started crying and talking to him at once. Jimmy didn't even recognize any of them except from the picture on Reimi's screen, and Notte and Morita of course. "Hey! HEY!" he yelled, flailing about.

One leg caught Vincent in a head-lock. He started to turn blue and Notte let out a scream of dismay. She whacked Jimmy painfully on the head. He instantly let go of Vincent, who started to breathe again.

"Wh-what are…?" Jimmy asked, rubbing the back of his head. When he got a better look at them, he realized that they all _knew _him. They were all excitedly waiting for him to say something. But where the hell had they come from?

"_Shin Asuka, Vincent Graves, Notte, Morita Aiko, Fazio, _and_ Aelia _are present!" Reimi blipped.

If his watch knew them, then they must've been in the adventure he had heard about six months ago. He looked at them with newfound interest. That was when Shin strode forward. His hair was a little different from the picture Jimmy had of him; his hair was a creamy color with splotches of brown in it, like the fur of a rabbit. His eyes were a light green and he held out a frail white orb.

Jimmy was hit by a powerful memory – he was being hit over and over again by something strong. He was pressed against a wall – and … Shin was there, he was sure of it. This astonishing memory shocked Jimmy and left him speechless.

"Please…take it," Shin said, holding the memory out. Jimmy gazed at its pure beauty in wonder. It was a perfect example of what he had imagined sunshine would look like if you could hold it in your hand. It was almost too bright to look at. "It's your memories, Jimmy. With your memories, then … you'll remember us."

Jimmy stared at the perfect orb. He longed to hold its splendor, but something was nagging him at the back of his mind… and then, without warning, the orb vanished.

Shin stared at his open palm in shock. Notte and Morita let out cries of dismay and Vincent, who now remembered _everything_, yelled, "What the hell?!"

"It's gone," Aelia whispered, her voice wavering.

Jimmy let out a sigh as well. Everyone turned to look at him apologetically. "Sorry…Jimmy," Shin said sadly. He shook his head in disappointment. "I guess…that…you'll never know."

"Wait! Are you – leaving?" Jimmy asked, grabbing Shin's sleeve as they turned to leave.

Shin's expression was shocked and hurt. "Yeah…there's nothing we can do. You'll just never remember us."

"So what?"

Everyone whirled around. They had not noticed Gwen before, and she now stood on Shin's arm lightly, where Jimmy was gripping him. Her likeness to Dipole was astonishing, and her eyes blazed with the same sapphire loyalty. "It doesn't matter if Jimmy can't remember you guys or not!" she continued, hissing at them. "It wouldn't even matter if Jimmy became deaf nor had amnesia, would it? You'd still be his _friends_. So just because he can't _remember _you, you're no longer his friend?"

There was silence as her words sunk in. Then, Shin walked towards Jimmy and hugged him, trying to make it not look _too _intimate. "I'm sorry," he said, and stepped back as the others crowded around Jimmy and hugged him warmly.

Even Vincent had something to say. "Yeah. I guess it wouldn't matter if you knew everything that had gone on anyways – _we _would still miss you, and you'd still be our friend."

**Epilogue**

Jimmy lived out the next week in secrecy. Some days he would go to his room and not come out. Even Clarice began to get annoyed with the privacy.

"What's wrong with you?" she would ask. "Suddenly you just hate the world and the people who live in it?"

"Maybe not the people in other worlds, you mean!" Jimmy would answer her. Then he would lock Clarice out of their room and listen to whoever was available that night. Sometimes Notte would tell him about Alkali, but that was rare when he figured out that she was an Avatar. He immediately told her that she should be saving other people. Most often than not it was Vincent or Shin who visited him and told their sides of fights to him. Jimmy was often left with stories that didn't match up in this case, but he enjoyed seeing his friends.

After a week of seclusion, he started to daydream in school. He dreamed that his friends were speaking to him from Alkali, showing him glimpses of it through their eyes. And while he slept he dug up a few small moments of his own – when he first met Shin, when he met Dipole, when he was undercover at EJE…but they were fleeting moments. Nonetheless, Jimmy cherished them. While he was sleeping, he was "wide-awake" in class – teachers always found it suspicious when Jimmy's head would hit the desk and then suddenly jerk up. Whenever he dreamed, his friends sent him a certain spell that would make him "super-smart"; teachers never figured out how he always knew the answer to some questions – or the reasoning. ("The egg came first because when the world was born, lots of Earth-siens didn't like the fact that Water-siens got to create life, so they cursed Water-siens with infants that were born extremely weak and defenseless and grew slowly, sometimes with life-sacrificing care…")

It saddened Jimmy immensely that he didn't have his powers anymore. But he was happy that when he _did _have them, he had met them.

Nine years later, Gwen sadly passed away as she caught the chicken pox and no one knew how to cure her.

But barely a month after that, Jimmy was joined by his faithful friend Dipole, who managed to sneak past the Gate-Guards one night when they were playing Poker. Dipole and Jimmy were both adults by this time – Jimmy was turning twenty-two and Dipole was (in human years) nearly seventy. But after spending a few days together, they became steadfast friends once more.

So throughout Jimmy's life, he never _did _really know what happened in Alkali – but he didn't care. And no else did either.

Emily was finally released from the "pocket" of space. But when she was told that David had died, she threw a fit and destroyed the Earth Territory's Chamber. The only remaining Chamber now rests buried with the darkened Mirage Orb under rubble, ashes, and some boulders after Shin destroyed it.

The Mirage Orb never truly died. _No matter can be created or destroyed. _Zepetiyah granted the Mirage Orb a vision of the future promising that Shin would kill her for the sake of Jimmy. The Mirage Orb did not fight what would come eventually – nor did she want to change it. She believed that by dying then the others would be happy would Jimmy.

When the Mirage Orb shut down, she was freed from it, and she became the real Methyl that she was. She went to the real Ayutlas, and set up a new life for herself there. Sometimes she would receive an occasional visit from Shin, who would seek her help in controlling his powers after she contacted him and told him that she wasn't mad at him. But after awhile he got the hang of it.

Hint for Matsuo's Prophecy:

And Clarice, Jimmy Blazer's younger sister? Clarice, in years to come, would live up to Matsuo's bloodline – she would join Matsuo (who never met her) and train as an apprentice to become an Avatar. As Matsuo's father was an Avatar and Matsuo gave up her Earth element, she had the knowledge but was no longer eligible. So Clarice grew up training hard under Matsuo, keeping the Blazer spirit strong.


End file.
